Final Fantasy XIII - The Untold Story Book I: The Cocoon Civil War
by Knight Captain Lightning
Summary: Three years before the events of Final Fantasy XIII, Cocoon is in the middle of a war between the Sanctum and the Liberators. Lieutenant Alexander Issac must find the strongest fighters that Cocoon has to offer in order to stop the traitorous General Vark. Along the way Alex unfolds a much deeper scheme as he finds a way to stop the corrupt General once and for all.
1. Chapter 1 - Life away from war

**I**

**Life away from war**

* * *

The calm waves brushed against the shoreline, the gentle breeze of the tranquil winds blowing through the seaside city of Bodhum. Bodhum lies around the southern part of Cocoon, on an island far away from the mainland. Bodhum's lovely hotels, beaches, and peaceful nature, make it a great vacation spot for many outsiders.

A single man was walking along the beaches of Bodhum, he wore a generic, white guardian corps jacket over a brown turtleneck shirt, his legs clad with tan cotton pants, brown, leather boots that extended halfway up to his knees. Upon his left shoulder lie a green, metal shoulder pad, it was standard across the members of Guardian Corps. His shoulder pad had two orange lights in the form of wide lines that stretched from one side to the other, they signified his rank as a Lieutenant. The emblem just below that was a depiction of a shield with an arrowhead at the bottom and four blades coming off from the side of the arrowhead atop the depiction is four feather-like objects extending at the top. All the objects extending from a center ring in the middle of the depiction. Above it are three random lines, that appear to be letters, but really aren't, they were symbols that stood for protection, this seal was the official seal of the Knight Captain, Advar; who led the division.

He had his hands in his pockets, tucked away as he passed through the beach of Bodhum, kicking a pebble along the coastline and watching the civilians enjoy a leisure day. While Bodhum may have been peaceful, the mainland was in a huge war. The effects of the war between Sanctum forces and the Liberators seemed so distant to the tranquil lifestyle of the Bodhum people, enjoying families and playing with friends in the ocean water.

As the orange haired man looked over his hands still in his pockets, a slight smile crossed his face as he saw everyone enjoying their day with family, friends and the like. Soon he arrived at a house that sat over the ocean water, a small walkway that led to the front door. He walked halfway up the ramp, his boots clanking as they met the metallic surface of the ramp. His arms found a resting spot over the railing as he gazed out to the ocean with a slight smile.

"Alex!" The sound of a woman's happy voice was heard as it was carried through the air.

The orange haired man turned his gaze to his left, body unmoving as he removed his vision from the rolling waves of the ocean. As he looked at the source of the voice his smile deepened as he stood up straight, walking quickly over to the woman standing on the shore.

"Mom!" he shouted back, making his way over to her and wrapping his arms around the blonde haired woman, embracing her in a hug.

As Alex wrapped his arms around the woman, he smiled and looked in her eyes, she had blue eyes, just like him. She wore a basic blue shirt and a small jacket over that to keep her warm, pants that covered her legs as she sat there with a smile. Her golden blonde hair that extended just past her shoulders gently swaying with the ocean breeze. The hair only looked so much nicer as the light created by the Fal'cie Phoenix was reflected off the hair.

"Alex, it's good to see you." She said as she released the hug.

"It's good to see you too mom." He looked behind her, two other figures coming over to see them. An man about the same age as the woman standing by Alex, he seemed to be in his later thirties and had the same orange hair as Alex, beside him was a small blonde girl, no older than nine years old as she tugged on the mans jacket.

"Well, well if it isn't Lieutenant Issac, how are you doing son?" He asked with a smile. The young girl merely jumped up and down, still tugging at her father's jacket.

"Daddy, daddy, it's big brother Alex!" She repeated before running over to Alex and giving him a hug, she was very short and so she wrapped her arms around his legs, holding her head to his waist with a smile as she closed her eyes.

"Hey there little sis, how are you doing?" He then smiled and hugged her back. "Wow thanks guys, this really means a lot to have you all here." He smiled, lifting up his little sister, holding her as she giggled cutely.

Alex looked around for a second and frowned, turning to his mother a second later. "Where's Radiant, I thought he would be here?" He asked curiously, seeing no sign of the man he was looking for.

"He'll be here, he just got caught up in something, but he would never miss his little brother's party." Alex's dad smiled and shook his head. "But enough about that, he'll be here soon, and he told us not to wait on him, so lets all head inside and catch up a bit."

Alex nodded and smiled back. "Alright, let's go inside." He walked down the walkway, the sound of their feet hitting the metal made a clanking noise as they reached the door, Alex pulled out a small blue card and waved it in front of a device on his door, the house unlocking as it allowed them in.

"Here, come on in guys." He said, walking in and holding the door open for them. As the three walked inside he closed the door, automatically locking from the outside again. "Alright, here we are, feel free to make yourselves comfortable." Alex said as he walked over and sat on the couch.

"What's that delicious smell? Did you order food for the party?" asked Alex's mom.

"No mom, I cooked it." he replied with a smile, obviously proud of his work.

"Well, it seems like you still remember what I taught you. It smells delicious." She smiled and sat down on the couch with everyone else.

"It smells like your cooking Mia." Alex's father got a little comfortable and then joked. "Better keep up or he'll be better than you, I can smell how good it is from here."

"Oh whatever Flint..." She shook her head and smiled.

Flint laughed lightly and smiled. "Oh come on Mia, it was only a joke."

Mia nodded. "Yeah, I know."

Alex's little sister then walked over to him and sat on the couch with a smile on her face, looking up at her older brother. "Alex can I watch a movie?"

"Of course Seerana, let's put something on for you." He smiled and then grabbed the remote, pushing a button to turn on his large television and then cycle through the menu to put on a movie from his digital library.

"Alright, I'm going to go check on the food in the oven so I'll be right back alright?" Alex said, getting up, his gaze toward Mia and Flint.

"Alright Alex." answered Mia, nodding as she watched the movie he had put on.

Alex nodded and then left the living room, making his way to the kitchen. He entered a room with a blue curtain over a window that gave him a lovely view of the ocean. He walked into the main kitchen where he had counters with a clear top that he could easily touch to activate a holographic interface allowing him to adjust settings in his kitchen, change the temperature, listen to music, and lots of different stuff. He simply brushed his fingers over the counter and a hole opened in the ground, an oven coming through the floor and leaning against the wall as he peered in to see if the food was done yet.

As he realized his food was done he touched the interface on the counter and his oven turned off, cooled itself down and then released the pizza that Alex had made, he placed it on the counter and then pushed another button on the interface, closing the oven and watching as it went back down into the floor, before the floor tiles moved back into place.

As Alex walked around the rest of his kitchen, getting the rest of the food ready, he heard a doorbell. Someone was here, but he didn't have time to get it, he figured one of his parents would. As he set out the snacks, beverages, and other various foods, he jumped a bit to feel someone slap him on the back then grab him, holding him as he felt a hand mess his hair.

"Well, well if it isn't little brother making the family food." The voice said before laughing a bit. "How are you doing Alex or should I say, Lieutenant Issac?"

Alex shook his head then turned around to look at his older brother. "Radiant, how are you doing?" He smiled at the sight of him.

"Eh, pretty simple, they held me back in the base for a little bit, kind of boring, I joined cause I wanted some action." Radiant folded his arms and then looked around the counters. "Wow, but I see you cooked me up a meal."

"Well I'm sure we'll both be seeing plenty of action soon, after all today's the last day in Bodhum before they send us off to the mainland to fight the Liberators." Alex was now leaning against the counter, looking at Radiant as he shook his head. "They won't know what hit them with the great Radiant there."

"Alex, you just say that cause you know you can never beat me in a fight, I always take you down in seconds, even since we were kids!" Radiant laughed a bit and shook his head.

"Hey, give me some credit, I lasted a minute last time!" Alex snapped back, trying to make his utter defeat seem less shameful.

"Eh, don't worry about it Alex, you've improved, I've seen it. Still nowhere ready to take me on, but you've improved." Radiant smiled and placed a hand over Alex's shoulder.

"Says the guy who is capable of wielding two gunblades..." Alex then turned to the food and finished a few things. "Well it's great to have everyone here, have one last night together before we get sent off to fight the war."

"Yeah, I know, oh and Alex... We won't be fighting in the same group. They're sending me over to Eden. I heard you were going to Palumpollum, so I'll wish you good luck, it's the least I could do."

"Well it's too bad, but I'm sure we'll both be successful. Good luck to you too tomorrow Radiant, We'll finish this war and then we'll be able to live happily in Bodhum again."

"Of course, don't you go dying on me now Alex." Radiant said with a smirk on his face.

"I won't Radiant... see you when it's over." Alex smiled and watched as his older brother left the room.

The rest of the night was pretty short, while Alex was a bit sad that Radiant couldn't stay because of his duties at the Guardian Corps with planning the assault on Eden, he spent the rest of the night laughing and smiling with Flint, Mia, and Seerana. They watched a movie, talked, caught up on things, and then soon the day was over, Alex's family had left, saying their farewells as they went home. Final hugs were given and with the Fal'cie Phoenix resting, the seaside city of Bodhum had darkened, the gentle oceans hitting the shores, the only light left being the large buildings and homes in the distance and all over Bodhum.

With his place quieted down, being the only person left along with his cat Alex walked to his bedroom, having already cleaned up the kitchen and the food. He went into the bathroom, holding a device in front of his teeth as a light emitted from it, he passed it over his teeth and then turned it off, setting it back in the container he grabbed it from. He then walked out of his bathroom and sat on the edge of the couch, stretching as he laid back, letting out a sigh. "Ahh... "

He smiled and then got up, walking over to his dresser and grabbing his night pants to sleep in. He changed and then laid down on his bed, pulling up the covers over his bare chest as he closed his eyes softly.

He soon felt the bed jump a bit and knew that his cat had come up to sleep next to him. He opened his eyes and looked down with a smile as he pet her fur and watched her nuzzle up in between his legs with a soft purr.

"Good night Mittens..." He closed his eyes then laid back down on his soft pillow, resting his head as he drifted to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2 - Shield Division

**II**

**Shield Division**

* * *

Soon the next morning came, Alex had already traveled to the ships at the docks of Bodhum. Sitting inside the briefing room with other soldiers and specialists, he felt the gentle rocking of the ship as it traveled across the ocean, making it's way to its destination far north of Bodhum.

There were many seats in the briefing room, each one situated around a long rectangular shaped table with rounded ends, giving it the shape of a capsule. On the wall at the far end of the table was a large screen, showing a map of Cocoon. All the soldiers that were sitting in the room around him had their attention turned to that end of the room where a single man was standing up, talking as he paced around the front of the room. His shoulder pad bearing the same emblem as everyone else, however the lights on his shoulder pad were a sky blue color. That color signified his rank as one of the legendary Knight Captains. Knight Captains are regarded as heroes and are very famous on Cocoon, they were recognized as the best of the best, the first and last resort as their incredible strength, skill, and intellect made them the strongest soldiers, hand picked by the Sanctum to form this elite group. Advar's rank as a Knight Captain allowed him to create his own division. Everyone bearing the same emblem under the Knight Captain, was a member of the division that belonged to the founding Knight Captain.

He walked around, his brown hair hanging partially down his back as he zoomed the map in on Palumpolum, their destination.

"Alright, listen up Shield Division. You're here because Cocoon needs us to stop the Liberators from winning this war. We both know how life will be if we lose, train bombings, public shootings, it'll be awful... we can't let that happen."

Pointing at the map as he turned his gaze to the members of his division he spoke once more. "While we are going to Palumpolum, our main forces are going to fight back the main Liberator concentration up in Eden. Liberator forces have already taken Palumpolum and the Gapra Whitewood, it doesn't help that we're losing Eden, and if Eden falls, it's over. We hope that by taking back Palumpolum and the Garpra Whitewood while they focus on the capital we can gain some advantages, but do be aware these places will still be guarded." Advar then pointed at the screen. His finger pointed at the southern beach of Palumpolum displayed on the screen.

"We'll be touching down on the shores here." He tapped his finger on the coastline of Palumpolum.

Suddenly before Advar could continue with his plan, a pinkette sitting in her chair with her arms crossed and her right leg over the left spoke up. She had pink hair flowing down the left side of her head like a soft lovely pink waterfall, her right side however was a bit spiky. Her crystalline blue eyes and her heart-shaped head focused on Advar.

"Sir, wouldn't the beaches be heavily defended?" She studied the map, attempting to get a better idea of what their plan was.

"Private Farron, no that is not the case. They're going to be at a high vantage point, this area we'll be touching down at is actually a spot they aren't aware of." Advar then folded his arms and waited if she had another question.

"Right, so what do we do after that sir?" She asked returning her calm gaze to the map for his following plan.

"We move in through the city streets over here to the square, secure and defend that position. With it secured we can maintain a hold in Palumpolum while we make our way to their base. Once we destroy it, they should retreat and we can retake the city and return it to Sanctum control." Advar had been trailing his finger along the map as he detailed his plan, the seal of Shield Division clearly visible on the back of his red cape. "Any questions?"

"Sir, what do we do when we reach the enemy base?" Alex asked, wanting to know the details as to how they would get by the security and guards of the Liberator encampment.

"Good question, we've discovered a weak point in the east side of the base, we plan to use this back alley to flank and exploit that vulnerability." He then looked around the room, waiting for another question to be asked about their plan.

Hearing no more questions he decided it would be best to conclude the meeting. "We hit shore in an hour and a half, I want you all battle ready half an hour before then understood?" Advar looked around the room as his division acknowledged his order, he then smiled and nodded. "Alright you may relax or make whatever preparations you may need." He left the room and the other soldiers followed shortly after, though two remained in the room with Alex.

One of the soldiers was Private Farron, the pinkette from earlier who had seemed very calm. The other was Sergeant Amodar, a large, bear-like man who got along with the other soldiers, his qualities much like that of a leaders.

The woman stayed quiet, seemingly thinking to herself as Amodar approached Alex, letting out a sigh. He looked back at the map before returning his gaze to Alex.

"It would seem we've got ourselves a battle plan, but I don't know, something just doesn't feel right about this..." Amodar was a longtime friend of Alex's in the Guardian Corps.

"Why do you say that? We have a good plan so why would something bad happen?" Alex asked, leaning against the wall.

"I don't care if it's easy or hard, you get in and get the job done." The pinkette stood there, looking at Alex with her arms crossed.

Amodar shook his head as he shrugged. "I'm probably just over thinking things, we'll most likely have a successful mission." Amodar then turned to the pinkette. "Oh Alex, this is Private Farron, she's new to the corps and was started off with our division, I've got things to do, but I'll let you two greet each other."

After Amodar left the room, Alex and the pinkette were the only ones left, a silence between them for a bit before the Lieutenant broke it. "So, Private Farron care to tell me a bit about yourself?"

"Call me Lightning... I'm a new soldier as you already heard, I'm efficient with gunblade combat and tactics and I finished with a high rank in my training, I won't hold you back, I can assure you that." She looked at him with her calm gaze, obviously she kept her cool pretty easily.

"Well I meant like you, not your record I can read that off some boring paper if I want to. I'd like to know some more about you as a person, it helps when you know the people you're working with." He smiled and stopped leaning against the wall, walking over to her to shake her hand. "So you're a gunblade wielder? That's a very difficult weapon to master, very few people like us out there that can use one." He kept his smile wanting to help make her feel comfortable around him and feel as if she could trust him to talk to.

"You're Alex right? Alexander Issac? Listen, I'm not here to make small talk, and I'm certainly not here to talk about me... I have a war to win and my reasons are my own..." Lightning said as she looked at him with an uninterested look.

Alex nodded and then looked into her eyes, the same crystalline blue eyes that he had noticed earlier. "Yeah I understand, but if we'll be working together, we may want to at least get to know each other right?"

"I suppose... alright, you want to know? I'll tell you. I joined because I have a little sister I have to protect and care for, I joined knowing it'd be the best way to support her because both our parents died..." She unfolded her arms and looked into his eyes. "Anything else? I'd like to relax a bit before we land."

"No, that'll be all... I don't want to keep you Lightning." He felt awful for her, his parents were really close to him, the mere thought of not having them around was pretty scary. He admired her dedication for protection her sister, she was really all that Lightning had left, he would do the same in her position.

"Then I'll be taking my leave Lieutenant." She walked out, leaving Alex by himself.

Alex stood in the room for a minute then looked to his side, letting out a sigh.

"Guess I better get going too..." He walked out, heading to his quarters to relax a little bit before the mission started.


	3. Chapter 3 - Assault on Palumpolum

**III**

**Assault on Palumpolum**

* * *

Over the last hour and a half the crew had gathered at the exit of the ship. Advar stood at the ready, an assault rifle on his back as he waited for the ship to hit the coastline. Alex and Lightning stood in a line of soldiers, Lightning's gunblade in the holster behind her legs and Alex with his sheathed on his back. Amodar had a massive machine gun and the other soldiers carried assault rifles and sub machine guns.

It wasn't long before there was a rough shaking that followed a crash. The large metal doors crashed down to the sandy beaches, making a ramp from the interior of the ship to the sandy shores of Palumpolum. Advar shouted at the soldiers to storm the beach, leading the way as Alex, Lightning, Amodar and the other soldiers ran out of the ship, and flooded into Palumpolum. Liberators were gunned down in their attempt to repel the surprise attack, as they had no success in keeping Sanctum forces at bay.

Amodar ran along the beach, flinging the bottom of his machine gun against soldiers that got within smacking distance of his large weapon. He took cover behind a large pipe and then swung out from behind it, smashing the end into a soldier on the other side before unloading an incredible amount of bullets at the Liberator soldiers that sat on the ramparts above them.

As Amodar laid down some cover fire for his squad mates, Alex, Lightning, and Advar pushed forward with the other soldiers, they ran through the narrow streets of Palumpolum, Alex and Lightning gunning down a few soldiers making defensive positions on the rooftops as Advar was surprised by a liberator sneaking upon him from around a corner, he felt the Liberators weight against his own as he tried to prevent the cold steel from plunging into his neck. In his desperate attempt to fend off the melee fighter, Advar used the butt of his assault rifle to smack the Liberator back, staggering him long enough for Advar to reach his sword, unsheathing it with a loud 'shling!' and plunging the long blade through the Liberator, extinguishing his life upon the long steel blade that soon retracted from his body. Advar then took the blade and sheathed it as the Liberator fell to the ground, lying in a pool of blood.

Advar sighed a breath of relief, turning to his three other squad mates and tilted his head to the side. "Come on, lets get going." He then started to charge ahead, continuing to lead the group. The trio followed behind, watching the other roads that branched off from their street and kept an eye on the rooftops. Eventually the four reached the town square of Palumpolum. The square was a large, open, circular area, surrounded by shops and buildings that had many large roads leading off from it. In the center was a large water fountain that made a calming trickle as the water dropped from ledge to ledge. As far as the four could tell, there were no soldiers in the area waiting for them, though gunfire could still be heard throughout the city as Sanctum and Liberator forces fought over control of Palumpolum.

Advar made a discouraging grunt and sighed. "Looks like there are no soldiers here... Something seems out of place." He studied the surrounding area for signs of enemy activity, but had no success in his brief search.

"Maybe they've retreated?" Lightning suggested as she placed her left hand on her hip.

"Highly unlikely, I suspect they have an ambush set up ahead of this position." Advar answered, resting his assault rifle on his shoulder.

Alex nodded and paced around the area as he thought to himself about the strangeness of the situation.

An annoyed sigh escaped Advar's breath as he turned to the trio. "I'm going to go and scout out the area."

Alex nodded and looked to Lightning and Amodar. "Sir, what should we do?" He asked as he turned his gaze back to the Knight Captain.

"Hold this position, if anyone launches an assault here, ensure it ends in failure." Advar lifted his assault rifle from his shoulder and held it at the ready. "Alright I'll be back shortly."

"Right..." Lightning acknowledged as she changed her gunblade to its gun form.

Alex did the same and then got into a defensive position, aiming his weapon down one of the many roads that led away from the square. Advar had walked off, going ahead to scout out the enemy's base.

"Lightning, get to high ground and search for enemy activity, Amodar get that machine gun behind a barricade!" Alex commanded to his squad mates. He was in command now as he was the highest rank of the three. He thought it'd be a good idea to set up a defensive perimeter and be ready in case any enemies were about to attack. He ran behind a barricade, using it to provide cover.

Lightning ran into a building, climbing up the clock tower, once she had reached the top of the ladder, she pulled herself up to the ledge. As she did so, she felt something wrap around her wrist, grabbing her and slamming her against the wall. The Liberator placed his free hand over her mouth, silencing her as he held a knife to her. "Don't you dare make a sound or you die like the rest of your friends down there." He threatened with a smirk on his face.

She glared at him through narrowed eyes as she smashed her elbow into his stomach, knocking the air out of him and stunning him long enough for her to grab his knife, plunging it into his heart. The Liberator fell to the ground and Lightning jumped down to the floor, running out and shouting to the young Lieutenant.

"Issac, it's an ambush!" She had hoped she could alert him and the warning was just in time. In an instant, a horde of Liberator soldiers attacked the square, the tranquil square with the calming sound of trickling water had quickly been overtaken by the sounds of gunfire and footsteps from the Liberators.

Amodar fired back, staying in cover and unleashing a hailstorm of bullets on the enemies. Lightning and Storm were in cover together and every few seconds they popped out from cover to fire back at the Liberators.

Gunfire was exchanged and Liberators started to fall. Now without the element of surprise, they were at a huge disadvantage. Shield division was behind good cover, had expected an ambush, and had the superior weapons.

After the Liberators ambush started failing, a soldier came in with a rocket launcher.

"GET DOWN!" Alex shouted to Lightning. He jumped at her, trying to protect her from the rocket. A loud 'pssssht' could be heard just before an explosion. Lightning and Alex were blasted by the rocket, getting thrown back. After they stopped and landed, Alex was laying on top of Lightning and holding her.

Alex got himself off of her, helping her back up. His hand extended he felt her hand grab his, her fingers interlocking with his as he pulled her up to a stand. Their hands quickly separated as Lightning picked up her gunblade in her right hand, looking him in the eyes.

"T..thanks..." She said in almost a whisper to him.

As the last two recovered from the blast, Amodar fired his machine gun at the last remaining soldiers to retreat.

Alex stood up against a wall, hand on his side as he winced in pain. "L..Lightning, please grab a potion out of the supply bag..."

She nodded, walking over to the bag, kneeling down as she unbuckled the supply bag, feeling around inside for a familiar shape. She shoved away items that didn't feel like the familiar potion that was standard issue to carry along on missions. After a few more seconds she grabbed the potion, removing her hand from the bag, revealing a capsule shaped object with a blue liquid sealed inside it. Lightning twisted the top and bottom halves of the device in different directions. There was a loud hiss as the capsule made a click, the liquid inside, turning into a gel before Lightning pulled it out. She then walked over to Alex and placed it on his wound, the gel sticking to it and absorbing the loose blood, helping to speed up his recovery and heal up his wound.

Alex sighed and pushed the gel into his body more. "Thanks, it feels much better." He then stood up straight and moved his arms and legs, feeling for any aches or other injuries. "Advar has been gone for quite some time."

Amodar nodded, "I think you two should go look for him, I can handle things here."

Alex nodded and turned to Lightning. "Agreed, Lightning you're with me, let's find the Knight Captain."

She nodded and saluted him, keeping her gunblade at the ready as she followed him through the streets.

Meanwhile, Advar had reached the market district, he stayed in cover behind a building and peeked around the corner, spotting someone he hadn't expected to see.

"Vark!?" He said in surprise, but his voice also showed relief as he walked over to the man with long black hair that extended halfway down his back. His cold, green eyes turned to Advar as a smirk crossed his face.

"Ahh... Knight Captain, Advar, how delightful to see you my friend." He stood calmly, looking at the other soldier as the two eventually stood next to each other.

"General Vark, what are you doing here? I thought you were deployed on the front lines with the rest of the soldiers?"

"PSICOM command figured that I should come along to provide you with some backup."

"I see..." Advar sighed and lowered his guard, at ease with his old ally.

Vark then walked back behind Advar a little bit, gazing off into the distance.

"Vark, I was just planning to scout out the Liberator base... It'd be nice to have some backup... With you here we shouldn't have much trouble."

With a calm face, Vark pulled out his pistol, looking at it for a second before turning to Advar who was looking away from him. He raised the weapon and aimed it at Advar's head. "Oh don't you worry Knight Captain... I'll handle things from here..."

Suddenly a loud gunshot could be heard from where Storm and Lightning were, immediately after the shot, a group of seagulls flew off, startled by the loud boom that struck fear in Alex's heart.


	4. Chapter 4 - Freedom

**IV**

**Freedom**

* * *

Upon hearing the gunshot, Alex grew uneasy, almost being able to tell that something bad had happened, his eyes gazed upon the white birds flying through the sky, the seagulls fleeing from the loud gunshot that had startled them. Storm turned to Lightning, peering into her crystalline blue eyes.

"Lightning, stay close alright." Alex spoke the command, it was less of an order, more so that he was worried for her safety. The private simply nodded in confirmation of his request. He turned his gaze back down the road, walking down the alleyway with his pink haired partner.

The pinkette followed her superior down the road, her gunblade, the Blazefire Saber in it's gun form. She held the weapon like a rifle, right hand on the handle and left under the barrel. She was prepared to fire her weapon at any Liberator soldier's if needed.

Eventually, the duo arrived in a wide open space, a small marketplace in Palumpolum, stores surrounded them in every direction, signs displaying the name as well as a small picture to help distinguish what the shop sold, however they were all closed since the citizens had evacuated the city when the Liberators came to capture the city. There were also various restaurants and a small elevated area at the far end of the marketplace.

The Lieutenant narrowed his eyes, spotting something on the elevated platform in the distance, his eyes then shot open in terror as he hastily made his way to the body he saw lying in a pool of blood. He knelt down, seeing his leader's face, the Knight Captain was dead, a bullet through his head.

"Knight Captain!" he shouted as he inspected the body, checking for a pulse, at least any sign that he was still alive, but he found none. He sighed and turned to Lightning. "He... he's dead..."

Lightning sighed and placed a hand on her hip. "Wonderful, we lost our squad leader..." She huffed and turned away. "Looks like you're in charge now Lieutenant..."

He stayed quiet for a minute, he closed his eyes and thought silently over everything that was happening. "You're right... it's up to me to get me to complete the mission..." He stood up and looked down at Advar. "Rest in peace Knight Captain..." He held his weapon in his right hand, looking over to Lightning as he spoke once more.

"Let's get moving, we need to attack that enemy base and hopefully they'll have a way to contact Sanctum command and alert them of Advar's death..."

Lightning nodded in acknowledgment. "Right, they should have comms, it is a base after all."

"Of course, I suggest we do this with a squad. We will need a decoy while we break in." He pulled out a small device from his pocket, holding it to his ear. "This is Lieutenant Alexander Issac, squad A of Shield Division. The Knight Captain is dead, I repeat, the Knight Captain is dead! This is the leader of squad A."

It took a second but someone responded to him. "Acknowledged sir, squad B is on standby awaiting your orders."

"Squad B, I want you to move in on the Liberator stronghold. Provide cover fire for our squad and get their attention. Squad A will infiltrate the base and when we've eliminated their leader your squad moves in and assists in clearing the base."

"Understood sir, we're moving immediately."

Alex nodded lightly to himself and put away the communicator, putting it in his pocket before turning to Lightning. "We should get moving, they will be there shortly and we need to be ready to move in when they attack."

Lightning nodded and then looked him in the eyes. "Lead the way Lieutenant."

Alex gave a quick nod, turning and heading deeper into Palumpolum, making his way to the Liberator Stronghold.

After reaching the end of a long road, the duo took cover behind a low stone wall containing a garden inside it's boundaries. Alex placed his left hand on his gunblade, holding it like a rifle before he looked above the wall, peeking his head out to scan the defenses of the outpost. His eyes narrowed, focusing on the watchtowers and guard that stood inside them. He rest his gunblade on the edge of the garden's wall, aiming at a watchtower where a sniper was scanning the main road that led into the base.

Sitting in the side road behind the low wall, Alex snapped a sight on top of the gunblade and a holographic display, showing a path leading to the Snipers head. He relaxed his weapon and body, positioning the gunblade so that it lined up with the marker. He twisted the knob on the gunblade, changing it's fire to single fire mode. He concentrated, focusing his full energy into this single bullet. He knew that this bullet would be the signal for Squad B to attack and draw fire. He held his breath and steadied his weapon, and after the display lit up green, Alex pulled the trigger, firing a bullet out the muzzle, sending it flying through the air before it finally penetrated the skull of the sniper. In an instant his life was taken, unaware of his killer. His body now on the ground in a pool of blood. The loud gunshot echoed throughout the stronghold, soldiers looked around, falling into panic as more gunfire was heard, Liberator soldiers were dropping with ease as Squad B drew their attention to themselves. Alex then turned to Lightning and nodded. "Follow me."

The pinkette nodded and followed behind, stealthily making her way to the small entryway, now unguarded as they were too busy fending off the decoy squad. Sneaking behind the tents and hiding in the shadows, the duo successfully reached the back of the stronghold. He switched the gunblade to sword mode and charged at the Liberator Captain, swinging his gunblade at him. Just before Alex's gunblade sliced the Captain in two, the Captain pulled out his sword, blocking with haste as the loud clank of steel on steel sounded the area.

Alex retracted his blade and tried to shove it into the him, but it was no use, he no longer had the element of surprise on his side. The Captain blocked once again and blades clashed. He was at a major disadvantage however as Lightning easily came up behind and swung her gunblade at him, he tried to block but it was too late, he was hit with her gunblade and as he turned around, Alex impaled him from the back with his own. He may have been a Captain, but he was no match for two against one, especially gunblade wielders.

Only a few more Liberators remained and they were soon dealt with. Squad B moved into the base, holding down the location as the leader approached Alex.

"Lieutenant Issac, I must admit you had a smart tactic, those Liberator scum had no idea what hit them!" The squad leader smiled and watched as his men set fire to the Liberator flag, hanging the Sanctum flag in it's place.

"Thank you sir, honestly it's amazing that we managed to pull it off with so few soldiers and without... Advar." He sighed and looked at Lightning. "Thank you Lightning... we couldn't have done this without your help." He gave a light smile at her.

She merely turned her head away and stayed quiet, folding her arms.

"However one thing does trouble me... whoever it was that killed a Knight Captain is certainly a person we need to be wary of... I suspect a traitor... a former high ranking soldier from PSICOM command... most likely General rank or another Knight Captain..."

The leader of squad B nodded, "Yes... I think you're right... Knight Captain's are the best there are, no normal foot soldier could have pulled that off..."

In an instant the roof of a large building opened up, sirens was heard throughout the stronghold as a massive airship roared, rising out of the roof. The engines booming throughout the city of Palumpolum. On the Port side of the airship was the name of the vehicle.

Alex's eyes widened as well as Squad B's leader. "W..what!? That's..." He watched as the ship left the Liberator base, flying through the sky north. "T...that's the Devourer!"

"Wait a minute, isn't the Devourer, General Vark's airship?" The leader of squad B turned to Alex, shocked at what he was seeing.

"It was Vark... Vark killed Advar!" Alex claimed.

Lightning was still looking up north, watching the airship as it faded from view over the horizon. "Tch... so that's the Devourer?"

Alex looked back down to Lightning and sighed. "It has to be, why would his airship be docked in a Liberator base?"

After a minute, Amodar and a squad B soldier came over to the group. The soldier raised his hand to his chest, saluting his superiors.

"Captain, sir! I can confirm that Vark is a traitor, I was hiding nearby when he shot Advar! I was a member of the reconnaissance team."

"So it was Vark! Tch... as much as I hate to say it, we aren't in a position to chase him... We have nowhere near enough power to take on his airship, and even if we can get on it, we're not powerful enough to take him on, it'd be suicide." Alex sighed and as soldiers gathered around, awaiting the young Lieutenant's command. "First thing's first... we gather more forces and take back most of Cocoon, Vark may be a threat, but he's not our primary enemy, the Liberators are."

The soldiers as well as Lightning, Advar, and the leader of squad B raised their hands to their chest as a loud "Yes sir!" followed.

"Squad B, you stay here and hold Palumpolum, I'm taking the rest of my squad and going to devise a plan." Alex turned to Private Farron and Sergeant Amodar. "We need transportation around Cocoon."

With a smirk, the Sergeant replied, "I think you'll like what I found, looking through some Liberator toys." He walked over to a large building, much like the hangar that the Devourer had launched out of and opened the door, walking into the building. As the trio entered, the room came to life, lights turning on and revealing a massive airship. The glass windows reflected the light, making it difficult to see inside the bridge of the airship due to the glare. The massive engines in the back of the airship looked incredibly powerful and on the back of the airship a ramp could be seen leading into the vehicle. On the port side of the ship, the name was clearly visible.

"The Freedom huh?" Alex said folding his arms. "Freedom is good, however not the kind that the Liberators are fighting for..."

Lightning turned her gaze to him. "What do you mean?"

"The Liberators seek independence from Fal'cie rule, they don't trust them and want to get rid of them. The Fal'cie rarely brand anyone L'cie and it is because of them that we live the easy lives we live today... but I wouldn't say I'm 'loyal' to them." He continued walking around the airship. "However the methods the Liberators use to gain this independence is extreme, they go as far as bombings and mass killings in order to strike fear into the public and assert their dominance, they're no Liberators as their name would suggest they are..." Alex now started walking up the ramp, blue light's lining the sides of the ramp on the way up into the airship.

The three entered into the hangar, a large room filled with aircraft. They were all fighters. They were built to be fast, maneuverable, and deadly.

"I wasn't aware that the Liberators were making something this impressive..." Amodar said in awe of the airship he stood inside.

"This airship must have been built to be as strong as the Devourer." Alex said, opening a door that led into a long hallway with many doors labeled for various purposes.

Lightning looked around the airship, following them through the hallway. "Why do you propose that theory?"

"Simple, first off it's massive, built to be the commander of a fleet. Secondly the Devourer was here too, I think it may have been so that they could research how it was built, and finally... Why build an airship in Palumpolum? Wouldn't it be easier in the Hanging Edge to the east of here? They were making it so that Sanctum forces wouldn't discover it's existence until it was on the battlefield, if they had succeeded we would have lost the war, we only have the Lindblum and Palamecia and the Liberators would've had two Devourers..."  
Alex opened another door, scanning the room he just entered. There was a large, mostly empty room with lots of chairs and hardglass in the front. In the center was what was shaped like a pool table, but it had a screen on the top of it. "Nice, a holotable on the bridge." He walked over to the device and pushed a button on it, the screen showed a map of Cocoon on it and a holographic interface showed up in the air.

"It really is impressive, as much as they hate to admit it, this fine airship is using a lot of Fal'cie tech."

On the holographic menu, four buttons could be seen. From top to bottom they read, Set course, System, Communications, and Freedom Map.

Alex touched the system button and read through the specifications of the airship, it contained in depth detail about the weapons systems and armor plating model as well as engine detail and more. "As I suspected, this ship is on par with the Devourer." He pushed a back arrow and touched the Freedom Map button, the map on the screen changed from Cocoon, to a map of the airship. He looked at it, seeing the Bridge at the front and the Hangar at the rear that they entered through. On the port side were the training room and experimental labs, in the middle of the airship was the entertainment room and dining hall, and on the starboard side were the crew's quarters.

"Lightning, this will be your room." Alex pointed at the map, a small box with a number written in it. "Amodar your quarters are here." He pointed at another room further down the hall. "I will have my quarters here." He then pointed at a room adjacent to Lightning's, closest to the Bridge.

"Yes sir." They spoke with a salute.

Alex sighed and then looked at them. "Err, don't be so formal alright? Just call me Alex."

They nodded again, not saluting this time. "Yes si... understood Alex."

The lieutenant smiled and nodded at them. "Close enough I suppose..." He backed out of the map screen and returned to the main menu, hitting travel and then placing his finger on the Gapra Whitewood, setting their destination.

After confirming, the roof of the hangar bay opened up, the Freedom roaring to life as the engines boomed furiously. After a second and closing the rear ramp and sealing it shut, the Freedom took off into the air, lifting off the ground and rose from the roof as the soldiers in the now Sanctum base watched in awe before the Freedom took off, flying through the skies to its next destination.


	5. Chapter 5 - Tactics and Strategy

**V**

**A game of tactics and strategy**

* * *

The sound of footsteps hitting the hard, metallic floor of the airship sounded throughout the halls. The bottom of the man's boots clanked with each step he took. Eventually the sound stopped as the lieutenant arrived at his destination. He now stood in front of a door, raising his right hand to push a button beside the doorway.

"Who is it?" A female voice asked from the other side of the metal door.

"Alexander Issac." The male answered back to the female voice that sounded from the other side.

There was a brief pause, then the lights above Lightning's door turned from red to green and the door raised up into the ceiling, granting access to the private's quarters.

As Alex walked inside, he noticed the pink haired Private sitting on a dark red couch. She sat with her left leg over her right, her body leaned back into the soft cushion of the couch with her arms folded. Her head turned to him slowly, her crystalline blue eyes focusing upon his, two oceanic blue gems gazing into the other.

The room was very simple, there was a leather case with a gunblade sitting on a desk in the corner of the room. It was the same leather holster that Lightning wore behind her thighs. Near the wall to Alex's right was a table with two chairs and a monitor hung on the wall. A double bed rest on the back wall of the room, red sheets and pillows giving a sort of class to the room. It was obvious this Liberator airship was built for comfort.

"Something you need sir?" She asked in a calm tone, obviously relaxed in her room.

In a relaxed voice the lieutenant asked, "Nothing work related, I just wanted to talk. Mind if I take a seat?"

She gave a light nod, "Yeah there's a spot open right here..."

Walking over to Lightning, he sat down on the couch, sitting down to her right. "I just wanted to talk about you."

"Look at my profile on the database..."

Alex then shook his head. "No I mean you as a person, not a soldier."

She sighed lightly, "Right, just one question for you however... Why do you care so much? Nobody ever takes an interest in this and it doesn't really matter. I'm a soldier, you're a soldier..."

He smiled softly and shook his head a bit. "It's because I want to get to know my squad mates, typically people who know each other better, work better with each other. Besides we're both gunblade wielders, that's a rare talent."

"Right..." She unfolded her arms and kept her eyes focused on him. "You remember when I told you about my little sister?"

Nodding lightly, Alex responded, "Yeah and your parents."

With a light sigh, Lightning closed her eyes. A second later she opened them once more. "Her name is Serah, as I told you before, our parents died and I had to raise her myself. I joined the Guardian Corps so I could support her."

Alex nodded and looked down a bit. "That's very kind of you. Family is very important to me too. I have my parents, older brother, and little sister."

She looked over at him once more, her eyes looking into his. "Yeah family is all I have left... I don't know what I'd do if I lost Serah."

He then reached into his pockets and pulled out a small pouch, grabbing a piece of chocolate shaped like a rectangle. "Hey Lightning, do you want some?" He asked, holding out the piece of chocolate to her.

"Is that... chocolate?" She asked as she eyeballed the tasty treat. Her mouth watered in anticipation of her favorite treat. "I'd love some." She said in almost a whisper, holding her hands in the shape of a bowl.

Alex smiled a bit and dropped the chocolate into her hands, grabbing the pouch and pouring the chocolate in between them. Alex watched her as she popped the chocolate into her mouth. She chewed on it for a second, savoring the delicious, chocolatey flavor that was detected by her taste buds and quickly filled her mouth. After a little bit she swallowed it down, giving a light smile. "Wow this is really good, where did you get this?"

Alex gave a slight smile back, "I didn't get it anywhere, I made it myself. My mother taught me how to make really good chocolate." He grabbed another piece of chocolate and placed it in his mouth, letting it melt a little on his tongue before swallowing it down.

"So what do you like to do for fun?" He asked as he leaned back. "Might as well pass the time, there's a few hours left before we reach Gapra Whitewood."

Her face loosened and her head tilted curiously. "Gapra Whitewood?"

"I figured if we retook it, we'd gain back control of our bioweapons and put an end to Liberator control of the militarized units." He then smiled and put another chocolate in his mouth.

Giving a light nod, the pinkette began to understand his intentions in targeting the Gapra Whitewood. "Sounds like a plan, having the bioweapons back would certainly give us an edge in this war."

"But we can discuss this during briefing, I'd like to know what you do for fun." A friendly smile came across his face.

"Uhh, I don't really have a lot I do... I mostly work and care for Serah. I suppose I sharpen my gunblade and watch television?"

Alex gave a light chuckle of amusement, "Thea's not a lot of fun, here lets play a game of chess." He pushed a button on the glass table that sat in front of the couch. A checkered board appeared and holographic chess pieces appeared above the glass.

She turned to the board and back to him. "Chess?"

"Yeah it's a game of tactics and strategy, I figured I would see if you were interested?" He smiled and out his arm, directing her gaze at the board, showing she had the first move.

After a minute of hesitation she shrugged. "I guess there's no harm in it." She then reached out for a pawn, moving it forward two spaces.

He smiled a bit and moved one of his pawns up two spaces. "So your sister... what's she like?"

She popped a chocolate in her mouth and moved another pawn up two spaces after swallowing it down. Looking to him, she answered, "She's a very caring person who often worries about me. I raised her myself and she's an experienced cook... She's 15 years old. When she heard I was going to war she got really worried..."

With a light nod he moved the knight on his right side of the board forward in an 'L' shaped move. "It's hard to leave close family behind... I'm very close to my family, they mean a lot to me."

She moved out the bishop diagonally before returning her gaze to him. "Tell me Alex, what model gunblade do you use? It looks very... unique."

"The Organyx model from Gilgamesh Incorporation. It isn't a common choice because of how heavy it is and because of that it is very slow, however it is able to do more damage than any other gunblade sold. I actually have a few custom upgrade modules applied to it, speeding it up and enhancing its speed even more. My customizations for it have made it into a speedy powerhouse, faster than any other gunblade without the same speed module equipped, but if someone were to have the speed module equipped on theirs, it'd still be very slow compared to any other model with the upgrade."

"Organyx huh? You probably know I use the Blazefire Saber, I'm still trying to learn to use a gunblade, they are extremely difficult to master, but I've been able to pick it up faster than most. Guess I still have a lot to learn, I've never heard of modules or upgrades." She turned back to the board. "Your turn by the way."

He nodded and moved his knight out, taking one of Lightning's pawns. "Well for a starting gunblade user you sure do have talent, you'll be a master in no time."

She swallowed down another chocolate and moved a pawn, keeping her sight on the board. "Light sir?"

"Short for Lightning, and please... it's Alex."

"Alright Alex." She nodded and they continued to play their game together.

After about an hour Alex had won the game. "Good game Light, it was fun." He smiled and held out his hand to her.

Lightning shook his hand and nodded. "Impressive, you had a good strategy, even won with a knight."

"Maybe I'll stop by again and we can do something else? I had fun."

Giving a light nod she looked up into his blue eyes. "That'd be fine Alex."

He gave a little more of a smile and backed away a bit. "Oh and feel free to keep the chocolate."

She smiled a bit too, however it was barely noticeable. "T..thanks..."

He then left, walking out of her room. He still had a little bit to do in order to prepare himself for their briefing before they landed in the Gapra Whitewood.


	6. Chapter 6 - Blitz

**VI**

**Blitz**

* * *

Alex had collected his whole group. Lightning, Amodar, and various soldiers from Squad B in Palumpolum had gone with him. He wasn't quite used to briefing soldiers or leading them into battle as it was usually the type of role filled by a Knight Captain, a Knight Captain slain by the traitorous General Vark. The Sanctum has pretty much given up all hope for Shield Division as their team was comprised of a few rookies led by a Lieutenant with nothing more to show than talent with a gunblade. While that may have been thought of as a bad thing by most, Alex knew that the lost faith of the Sanctum would be their biggest advantage, everybody expected them to fail, giving them the element of surprise.

He stood with his soldiers, waiting for the Freedom to touch down. It didn't take long for Alex to come up with a plan and a way to raise the spirits of the troops. "Soldiers of Shield Division, as you know Knight Captain, Advar was murdered, betrayed by a famous General gone traitor. Without an appointed leader, the Sanctum has lost their faith in us."

The soldiers looked amongst themselves, well aware of their current situation. They hated knowing that they were most likely doomed to failure.

Alex slammed the bottom of his hand into the open palm of his left. "But I'm not ready to give up and die! Every one of us is here for a reason... to protect something dear to us! For me, that's my family, my parents and siblings, perhaps that is the same for you too! A sister, friends, or your very homes!"

Lightning's hands tightened around the bottom of the barrel of her gunblade, her mind turning to her beloved sister, Serah.

"They expect us to lose! The enemy doesn't know we're coming for them. So why don't we show all of Cocoon that Bodhum isn't just a bunch of swimsuit girls and beach parties! Let's show them what we're made of!" Alex held his gunblade up, then in an instant the other soldiers held up their guns and began to cheer. "FOR BODHUM! FOR COCOON!"

After a minute, the cheering calmed down a little and Alex began to tell them their orders. "We will be touching down in the southeast corner of the Gapra Whitewood. Our objective is to take back the bioweapons and eliminate Liberator control of the region."

The soldiers listened to him, determined to give it their all in order to protect what is important to them. "Squad B, I want you to lead the main assault team in eliminating hostiles, S Squad will be a small recon team that will find the central mainframe and hack it, gaining control of the bioweapons back. Amodar..."

Sergeant Amodar saluted Alex and nodded, "Yes Lieutenant?"

"You will be serving as squad leader for B since you use a machine gun and it'd be best suited for the front lines."

Amodar nodded once more in confirmation, "Of course Alex, I won't let you down."

Alex then gazed at Lightning, "It's best if we head in undetected, two gunblade specialists should have little problem."

Giving a light nod in acknowledgment, Lightning turned to the large rectangular, metal door.

After Alex turned to the large door with everyone else, he pushed a button and the door opened up. After a gust of wind nearly blew them away, he jumped out with Lightning, Amodar and Squad B following right behind. The soldiers all charged out of the landed airship, following Amodar's commands as they deployed barriers on the walkways of the Whitewood. It didn't take long for them to open fire on the Liberator guards that were holding the Bioweapons Research Facility.

In the midst of the conflict, Alex and Lightning started to stealthily sneak by, following the blue, metallic road towards the central mainframe. Alex held his gunblade in his right hand, keeping it ready in case he needed to fire at any Liberator soldiers in their way. It didn't take long as Lightning tapped his left shoulder with her right pointer finger, as she got his attention she pointed at two soldiers with her left index finger, there was a patrol to the walkway on the left, about four feet below them and 10 feet out.

Alex's eyes focused on the patrol, both soldiers were dressed in a black cloth uniform, they wore helmets and the red straps around their legs held the extra pouches and storage for ammunition, communicators, and other supplies. It was nothing more than a typical Liberator uniform, styled after the PSICOM Enforcer uniform.

"Light, take the one on the left." Alex whispered, getting down on one knee and taking a crouching position as he aimed his gunblade at the targets. He closed his left eye and turned on his holographic targeting projector as Lightning did the same. Now with their shots aligned, Alex began to speak. "Three... two... one..." The two fired their shots simultaneously. A standard bullet coming out of Lightning's barrel and a heavier, bulkier one coming from Alex's gunblade. The standard bullet found its target first as it had less air resistance, hitting the soldier in the head, killing him. The other soldier didn't have long to react before the other bullet shot clean through his head as if it were tissue paper.

Back on the drop zone, Squad B was having incredible success. They had managed to force many Liberators to fall back due to their surprise attack. Most Liberator forces were running to the southeast Gapra Whitewood to fend off the assault team.

On the front line was Sergeant Amodar, sitting behind cover as he held his massive machine gun, nearly the same height as him. As soon as he noticed the Liberators ease up on their fire a bit, he came out of cover, tossing the massive weapon over the barricade he had set up. "Push them back B!" He then pulled the trigger, his gun spinning up for a second before opening fire, letting out a hailstorm of bullets that erupted from the end of the machine gun. The Liberators were soaking up the bullets like sponges, quickly falling to the ground. Others were pinned down and couldn't dare come out of cover for fear of their lives. Squad B took this moment of opportunity and tossed a fragmentation grenade over the cover that the Liberators were hiding behind. As a second passed, the grenade exploded, killing the soldiers and sending them hurtling off the walkway and into the deep pit below. The squad began to push forward, taking the Gapra Whitewood from Liberator control.

Alex and Lightning had reached and elevator at the end of the walkway that they had been following. The duo had stepped onto the platform and a monitor extended out to them then flicked to life. On the screen were two options, the top one with an arrow pointing up read 'Control Center' and a bottom one with an arrow pointing down that read 'Bioweapons Research Site A-E'.

"Just our luck, this should get us to the objective." Alex pushed the top option and an error came up on the screen. 'Error: No passcard inserted, Access Restricted.'

"Great, how are we supposed to get there now?" Lightning asked with a huff, annoyed that they were so close but had no way in.

Alex turned to her and gave a light sigh. "I guess we have no other choice than to go through the research site, I think there is another path that leads up."

Lightning nodded in acknowledgment, "Alright then, let's go."

Alex pushed the bottom option and the elevator started to move after a clank. It slowly descended towards the bottom floor. Alex started to look around at the magnificent, blue leaves surrounding them, the entire plant life seemed to be made of a mixture of crystal and machinery. "Wow it really is beautiful."

"Yeah, never seen anything like it..." Lightning said, giving a light nod as she looked around at the lovely view all around them.

Alex turned to her with a smile, "It reminds me of the ocean in Bodhum. It's really beautiful."

Lightning felt her heart go a bit light, her body relaxed and she gave a light smile.

Alex chuckled a bit and smiled back a bit more. "Is that a smile Private?" He asked teasingly.

She then turned away and gave a light huff, "N..no! You're just seeing things..."

Alex laughed a little, "Oh I see, and here I was beginning to think that you were all business and never smiled."

"S..so what if I'm smiling, what's it matter?" She asked, glaring at him.

His smile only became more friendly. "Because I like your smile, you look really pretty."

She found the soft skin of her face quickly turn a bright red as she blushed at his compliment, her heart began to race and her eyes widened, a bit shocked at the sudden compliment. She quickly turned around and tried to hide the clearly visible blush. "I.. what's that for all of a sudden!? I'm a soldier, I'm certainly not 'pretty!"

He chuckled a bit and smiled more, only finding enjoyment out of the embarrassment of the pinkette. "Oh come on now, you're a soldier, but you're also still a person under there. You may be tough, but no matter how strong you are you're still a woman with feelings underneath."

She stayed quiet as she thought over his words, her crystalline blues turned to the beautiful surrounding leaves made of crystal and machines as they passed by her, the two soldiers descending to the ground floor.

As more Liberator soldiers arrived to fend off squad B's advance, the group became pinned down, unable to push back the oncoming hostiles anymore until they thinned their numbers. Amodar stuck behind cover and tried not to get shot by the gunfire of the Liberators. It didn't take long for the Liberators to bring out the bioweapons. The large artificial monsters snarled, gazing at their targets. A bunch of Pantherons began to run down the crystal walkway, green monsters charging on all fours, skin made of a flexible metallic layer.

Amodar pointed his machine gun at them and shouted to his allies, "Destroy the Pantherons!" He then began to open fire on the Liberators, pushing them back behind cover, providing suppressive fire for his squad as they took care of the monsters.

The three Pantherons were met with a barrage of bullets from the many soldiers, hitting the metallic shell of the Pantherons. One Pantheron went down and a second soon after, simply unable to sustain anymore damage. The last monster landed on top of Squad B's leader, paws on his shoulders, keeping him on the ground as the real monster would do. He looked up in fear as the mighty beast roared in his face, the bladed claws digging into his skin, easily piercing through his Guardian Corps jacket and vest almost as if it were a wet paper towel.

Squad B's soldiers fired on the monster, but it wasn't enough, the beast shrugged off the gunfire, intent in taking its captured prey.

In an instant, Amodar threw his machine gun over the cover and charged at the beast, knocking the Pantheron off with a wide arcing swoop of his massive weapon. The Pantheron flew at least three feet away on its side, the lights flickering on it. It stood up and roared at him, but it was no use because the instant the monster had regained its senses, it was met with hundreds of bullet holes in its thick armor. The beast fell on its side once more, out of commission.

Amodar then helped the leader up as he got behind cover with him.

"T..thanks Amodar..." He was breathing rapidly, still in shock from the monster that had nearly taken his life.

"You look alright soldier, just a scratch." Amodar reached into his pocket placed a potion in the hand of the soldier. "Either way, this should help with the sting of the claws."

He took the potion and placed the gel over his wounds, letting out a wince of pain as it stung a bit. After a second however the stinging quickly subsided and he started to feel much more comfortable.

"What's your name?" Amodar asked out of curiosity, and partly as he was always friendly with his allies.

After reaching down and grabbing his rifle, the leader of squad B looked at Amodar. "Name's Blitz, Sergeant."

Amodar nodded, "Ah Blitz of Squad B... Blitz Squadron."

The elevator soon came to a sudden stop and Alex stepped out, Lightning following behind him. They found themselves surrounded by large black walls that matched the floor and no ceiling. "Looks like we reached the Research Site, this should be the E section, the A section should be on the other side of the area, through there." He pointed in front of him, at the only path they could take.

With a nod Lightning started to follow him, walking through a gate with the Lieutenant. As soon as they stepped inside site E, an electric barrier sparked to life, preventing their escape. Lightning instantly drew her gunblade, suspecting that they had fallen into a Liberator trap.

"Relax Light, it's just the barrier, they're built to keep the feral monsters in here." He unsheathed his gunblade and held it at the ready, "Keep your guard up, they're going to come out any second."

"Y..you never said anything about this!" She huffed and after a short second, two Silver Lobos came out from behind a rock, they snarled at the two and obviously weren't too happy about the intruders on their territory. The Silver Lobo on the right made the first move, charging at Alex and leaping through the air, swiping its paw down at him, however Alex quickly ducked and stabbed his gunblade into the beast's stomach from below. As it flew through the air, the gunblade sliced open the Lobo and it fell to the ground behind Alex, guts and blood pouring out from it.

The other Lobo started to run at Lightning on all fours. The pinkette swung her gunblade at it and sliced the monsters paw off, causing it to howl in pain. Alex then made a crushing downward swing with his blade, effectively putting the beast out of its misery as it was smashed into the ground under the heavy metal of the Organyx.

Alex turned to Lightning and nodded at her, he knelt down and took a small knife from the case on his chest, putting it into the monsters mouth as he sliced out the fangs. One was chipped, but the other was in perfect condition. "A wicked fang, we should be able to prepare the Blazefire for an upgrade with these, however we still need some mechanical parts."

"Weapon modules?" She asked curiously, recalling their chat in her quarters earlier.

"No, just simple weapon upgrades. If you upgrade enough and obtain a transformational catalyst you can use it to make an entirely new weapon with more strength." He put the fangs in his bag, storing them for later use. "We should get going, we have to get the bioweapons under Sanctum control again."

Lightning nodded and followed Alex to the next pen, defeating four Lobos and collecting their fangs. After about three more pens were cleared, a large Feral Behemoth appeared and roared at the two soldiers.

Alex opened fire on it and Lightning did the same, Behemoths were large and were capable of dealing a lot of damage. Alex noticed the beast trying to protect itself from their gunshots and charged at it, his gunblade changing to sword form in an instant before he swung at the monster, hitting it hard in the massive paw, his blade sheared through the paw and cut it clean off. The behemoth screamed and tried to use its fangs to bite Alex.

Reacting with haste to the Behemoth, Alex shoved his gunblade between the massive jaws of the behemoth. The monster snarled at him as it bit down with all its force, wanting to eat his whole arm in payment for his paw. The breath of the beast smelt like old meat and made Alex want to puke, he turned his gaze away and used his free arm to cover his nose.

Lightning saw the trouble that Alex was in and ran over to the behemoth, swinging her blade at the monsters face, causing it release Alex's gunblade and roar out in pain as it left a deep scratch on its face. Alex took this opportunity to unleash the finishing blow, swinging at the neck of the behemoth with a powerful downward slash. The gunblade sliced right into it's head, slicing it off and slaying it instantly.

The two soldiers took a second to catch their breath and about a minute later, Alex's communicator started vibrating. He opened it up and held it to his ear. "Hello Lieutenant Alexander Issac here."

He heard gunfire in the background as well as Amodar's voice. "Hey Alex are you almost done? We're under heavy fire, they have deployed tons of militarized monsters!"

"Yeah we're extremely close, just hang in a little longer Amodar!" He glanced at Lightning, making sure she got the message.

"Well hurry up or else you won't have a squad left to save!" Amodar hung up and Alex put away his communicator.

He started to run out of the pen and found another elevator leading up. "This one isn't restricted, there isn't any point in restricting access on an elevator that can only be accessed from the Control Center since the monsters should eat anyone coming through."

They walked up into the elevator, it wasn't as nice as the previous, in fact it was more like a lift than an elevator, however Alex knew it'd do its job just fine and he pushed the up button, making the lift hum as it began to ascend upwards where they were once again greeted by lovely crystal-like plant life.

Lightning stayed mostly silent still, looking at the passing scenery. The lieutenant watched her for a minute as she was lost in thought.

"Alex." She said calmly, her focus still on the Whitewood as if she was in a trance.

"Yes Light?" He asked, watching her stare off.

"I've been thinking about what you said earlier."

"About the pretty thing?" He asked uncertainly.

She felt a light blush come up on her face again. "Tch... I meant the thing about being human!"

"Yeah? Or are you just trying to hide the true question again?"

"What question?" She snapped at him.

"You were going to ask why I said pretty weren't you?"

"Wh... was not!" She said, getting worked up about it.

"Oh is that so? Turn around then." He said with a smile.

"No!" She exclaimed, now frustrated with him, but still feeling her heart beating swiftly.

"Why not? You're blushing aren't you?" He teased.

"Am not!" She her heart pick up more and her blush deepen, knowing it was true, but not wanting to admit it.

"You like me Light!"

"Do not, how could I ever have... feelings for someone as frustrating as you! The very thought of it is ridiculous!"

"Sure..." He chuckled a bit, finding her cute when she was all worked up like right now, he mainly teased her because he got to see her show more feelings, reassuring him that she wasn't just some emotionless machine.

Lightning was wondering why she was blushing and felt her heart racing. She didn't like the man, or at least she didn't think she did. Most of all, she wondered why she was growing feelings when she had never even been interested in the boys or dating when she was in school or Bodhum's Guardian Corps Academy.

After a while of silence, the elevator came to a stop and Alex walked off, Lightning not far behind. "This is it, the control center of the Capra Whitewood. The mainframe should be inside there." Alex pointed to a building not too far away, it had a Liberator flag hanging off the room and was without a doubt their objective.

Alex started to walk over, taking position on the right side of the door as Lightning went to the left. They held their gunblades in gun mode and Alex opened the door, walking into the room, crouched as he stayed low and behind cover. The two walked into a large, open room with monitors for viewing the whitewood and windows to ease the scenery. A single, heavily armored Liberator stood at the window, his attention on the area outside.

Alex started to move towards the computer console on the other wall from the Liberator.

"I wouldn't touch that..." The cold, male voice was heard behind him, causing Alex to turn around. The Liberator was staring right at Alex through his helmet. "I knew that you'd show up. Wouldn't want to miss your arrival, Sanctum lapdogs."

"What do you want Liberator scum!" Alex said, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Lay down your gunblade. I would hate to resort to unnecessary bloodshed."

Scoffing, Alex snapped back at the Liberator leader. "Ironic since you Liberators are murderers!" He held his weapon at the ready to defend any attack the enemy leader might throw.

"I do only what I must to secure Cocoon's freedom!" He pulled out a small rod that extended into a full two handed staff before charging at Alex.

Alex blocked the attack with his gunblade and kicked the Liberator in the Stomach, stunning him for a quick second. The Liberator backed away before Alex could follow up with an attack.

"Light, go insert the datakey into the mainframe!"

She nodded and ran to the console, inserting a card into a slot for the mainframe. Once she did so, she began entering data to hack the mainframe.

Alex charged at the Liberator and clashed blades with him, sparks flying off their weapons. Alex then pulled back his gunblade and swiftly made three more strikes at the Liberator, each attack blocked except for the last, which hit the enemy on his wrist. The Liberator staggered back and winced in pain. Knowing he would lose, he retook his staff and charged at Alex while he was getting ready to attack. At the last second, the Liberator changed his path and charged at the vulnerable Lightning, hacking the mainframe. Alex held his gunblade tightly and threw it at the Liberator, the blade piercing his armor and impaling him as he fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Alex walked over to the gunblade, pulling it out of the body. He wiped off with a cloth and sheathed.

Lightning had successfully hacked into the mainframe and now Alex walked over, changing the friend or foe locator. Alex reversed the allies back to Sanctum and enemies back to Liberators. Once he hit confirm, the signal was sent out to all of the bioweapons.

Back on the battlefield, Blitz Squad and Amodar were in a terrible situation. They found themselves on the verge of defeat and had almost decided to retreat, however just when things seemed hopeless, the bioweapons suddenly turned and started attacking the Liberators. Screams and panic was heard when the Pantherons and Alpha Behemoths suddenly turned. Amodar took this opportunity and ordered everyone to open fire and push forward in the enemys state of confusion.

A second later, the Liberators saw their flag being burnt at the control center, they knew their leader had died and along with the now hostile bioweapons, the Liberators lost all morale and began to retreat in panic. Amodar and Blitz Squad cheered as they had successfully retaken the Gapra Whitewood for Sanctum forces.

After burning the Liberator flag, Alex and Lightning walked over to the elevator that they had previously been unable to access and took it down to the floor that Amodar and Blitz Squadron were waiting on.

The two groups met up again and Amodar let out a hearty laugh. "We sure showed those Liberators what Bodhum can do!"

"You sure did, great job Amodar and Squad B!" Alex smiled, glad they had succeeded.

Blitz saluted, "Please, just call us Blitz Squad sir."

With a light nod, Alex smiled, "Blitz Squad it is."

Amodar then turned to Alex, "Ready to get on the airship and relax?"

Alex nodded lightly once more, "Specialist Squad, Blitz Squad, head back to the airship. The mission was a huge success!"

The soldiers cheered and everyone went back to the airship, where Alex contacted Sanctum command, sending them a report of their success and to request soldiers to come to defend the Whitewood, holding it and ensuring it stayed in Sanctum hands.


	7. Chapter 7 - Technological Advances

**VII**

**Technological Advances**

It had been a week since Alex and his troops had retaken the Gapra Whitewood for the Sanctum. They had been told to remain there until Sanctum forces could arrive and establish a firm hold on the area.

Word had spread of Alex's great efforts in regaining the bioweapons and that had given Sanctum forces an advantage in the ruined streets of the once great Eden, however this spike in morale was not enough. The Liberators assaulting Eden had managed to capture and secure Edenhall, the capital and heart of Eden. With the Sanctum now kicked out of their own seat of power, things seemed almost hopeless, but nobody was ready to give up yet. Alex intended to talk to an officer of the Guardian Corps and establish a plan to defeat the Liberators.

The Lieutenant walked into the conference room of the Freedom where he spotted a bunch of chairs that were arranged evenly distanced from each other, around an elevated circular platform, the holographic display that Colonel Cid Raines would discuss a strategy in order to recapture Eden.

Alex took a seat alongside Lightning who was seated to his right. To his left was Amodar, and Blitz Squadron filling the other six seats. Alex had noticed that Lightning and Blitz Squadron were talking, almost as if they were old friends or at least acquaintances.

After a brief pause, the holographic display came to life, a dark, black haired male in formal, white, Guardian Corps officer robes.

"Lieutenant Alexander Issac, current active leader of Shield Division and the man responsible for retaking both Palumpollum as well as the Gapra Whitewood after the Knight Captain's death... what a pleasure it is to finally meet you..." Cid's voice didn't sound enthusiastic, more calm and relaxed than anything else. "So... I heard you have another plan to retake Eden from the Liberators correct?"

With a slight nod, the lieutenant spoke up, keeping his gaze with the holographic man. "Yes, I have a plan to get right into the heart of the capital and stop the Liberators once and for all sir."

The colonel gave a light nod and tucked his chin between the gloved thumb and index finger of his right hand. "Is that so? Then let us hear this plan Lieutenant."

"We are going to need an army, skilled soldiers that will take the front lines. Heavy PSICOM fighter class airships that will attack from the skies, the Freedom will take the lead since it's been built to stand at the same level with Vark's warship, the Devourer." Alex used his right hand to bring up a list of the things they would need for their assault.

"I see, but that is no plan... that's just what you'll need. I suppose your planning to draw their attention with the airship?" Cid folded his arms and narrowed his eyes, unsure if this meeting was worth his time.

"No... while the Freedom is moving in, piloted by Blitz Squad, I will move into Edenhall with Lightning and Amodar. A smaller group can move faster and undetected. The private and I are both skilled with the gunblade and the sergeant has the heavy firepower to provide suppressive fire if needed."

"Hmm... alright I like it, but this private... you sure we can trust her abilities? She's fresh to the Guardian Corps, she may even lose her life if she isn't careful..." Cid turned his gaze to Lightning, his eyes traveling up and down her body, inspecting her to see if she would end up being a problem more than help.

"I'm positive... she's my second in command and even if she is new, she's already extremely skilled with the gunblade. I would trust her with my life sir." Alex spoke with authority and assurance, leaving no sign whether his words were true or false.

"How do you intend to get into Edenhall yourself?" The Colonel had already turned back to the Lieutenant. "You have thought that far haven't you?"

With a nod and a slight smirk, Alex spoke confidently. "Yes! We plan to sneak around the front lines by traveling through Eden's Skywalk. Once we get closer we will make our way down into the Leviathan Plaza and into Edenhall."

Raines thought to himself for a minute before speaking again, thinking over the well thought out plan. "Alright, I will even bring the Lindblum into the fight, I am not losing this war... and I suggest that you get the Freedom to Eden. We're finishing this war as soon as we can."

Nodding lightly, Alex smiled a little, happy that his plan had been accepted. "Yes sir, see you in Eden."

The colonel's hologram then disappeared and everyone stood up, Blitz Squadron being the first out the doorway so they could have the most time to themselves. Amodar decided he'd go ahead and follow them as he had heard they were throwing a party for their success.

Alex began to approach Lightning, who had just stood up and took one step before turning her gaze to the man that looked at her. "Yes Alex?" She asked softly.

"I couldn't help but see you talking to Blitz Squad before the meeting, do you all know each other?" He raised a brow slightly, curious as to if the two had some sort of history.

She gave a light nod, "Yeah, we went to Bodhum Guardian Corps Academy together... They're people I spent some time talking to from time to time. They apparently look up to me a bit, which is why they named their Squad Blitz and have the callsigns they do."

"Really? You must have really done something important to have them name their group after you." Alex smiled a little, glad to know that the pink haired soldier girl at least had some friends.

"I guess." She spoke softly once more, not exactly seeming like she was in the most talkative mood at the moment, but at the same time she wasn't upset, just kind of calm. She turned away from him and started to walk out the door.

Alex followed her and after a minute of silence, save for the constant clanking of boots on metal, he spoke up. "Hey Light?"

"Yes?" She asked, turning her bright blue hues to his, curiosity in her eyes as she thought about what it was he wanted from her.

"How would you like to come to my quarters? I have something very interesting I would like to show you." He gave a light smile to assure her that he was just being friendly.

The pinkette came to a stop and the clanking of leather boots came to a brief silence. She said nothing for a good minute and then after some thinking, she answered him with a nod. "Alright, lead the way Lieutenant." She waited for him to step in front of her and take the lead, walking her back to his private quarters.

Alex nodded at her and turned, walking down the hallway, leading the woman behind him back to a door that was a bit separate from the others. He pulled out a card and swiped it in front of the scanner, the light turning from a red to a green color with the sound of a click. Metallic doors sliding open with a hum, allowing entry for the two soldiers.

As they walked into the large room, Lightning spotted a large bed for two, red sheets just like the sheets in her room. On the right half of the room was a large table protruding from the wall with various unknown devices and tools scattered across the surface. On the left side, a large couch shaped like an "L" that looked capable of fitting five people. A small hardglass table sitting in front of it with a bathroom in another room on the back left wall, but Lightning couldn't see into there from where they stood.

"Come over here Light." Alex gave a light smile and walked over to the large worktable on the right side of the room, resting the palms of his hands on its surface.

The pinkette did as told and followed him, studying the various items on the table, still quite clueless what any of the things were or what they did, but one thing stood out in her mind when she saw the golden metal and other disassembled parts scattered around, it was Alex's gunblade, completely disassembled and laying in parts on the table. "What did you do to your gunblade?" She turned her gaze from the table, to the male that stood next to her, her eyes meeting his.

"I'm working on two projects, one to upgrade my gunblade and another that could revolutionize AMP technology!"

She couldn't help but let out a small chuckle when he mentioned AMP technology. "AMP tech, are you kidding me? Everyone knows it's good for little more than guiding a child's boomerang and making things float."

He gave a light smirk, almost glad that the pinkette had said such a thing about the technology. He wasted no time in picking up a small device, attaching it to his uniform. "Watch this then." After a snap of his fingers he became surrounded in a purple energy field, lifting his feet up, he was floating in the air. He placed his feet against a wall and kicked off, sending himself flying across the room. Once he reached the other side, he placed his feet against the wall to stop himself and turned off the device, falling to the floor where he landed on his feet.

The entire time she watched in shock, seeing him fly across the room with AMP Technology. "Wha...?"

"The new Grav-Con Unit allows the area of effect to become a zero gravity field. I also managed to develop something much better however, I call it Manadrive." He thought quietly for a few seconds. "Heh, it'd be best just to show you it." He held out his left hand and a bit of water inside of a cup turned to ice in an instant, he then turned his arm to a metal plate that had scorch marks on it, like it had been burnt. In an instant a fireball shot out of his hand and hit the plate.

"What!? You used magic! T..that's impossible... Humans can't use magic..." She couldn't believe he was using magic, it was something impossible for humans to access, and yet here he was, casting two spells right in front of her. "You're not a L'cie are you?"

"No, it's manadrive tech, I bet you didn't know AMP could do something like that did you?" He walked back to the workstation and removed the device from his uniform, setting it down on the table.

She stared at him and blinked a few times, trying to find her words once more. "Th..that's impressive Alex... I didn't know AMP had all these secrets behind it."

He smiled and shook his head. "It's fine, most people don't know how powerful this technology really is."

"Can I try the manadrive?" She asked, staring at the device with an interest.

He gave her a light nod, picking up the small device and holding it out to her. "Of course, just put it on your uniform somewhere." Alex walked over to the other side of the room where the scorched metal plate was hanging, he lowered it a bit and positioned it so she could hit it easily. He then walked back over next to her and watched as she got herself ready to cast her very first magic spell.

Lightning held out her left hand and tried to cast a fire spell that had been shown in movies and other media sometimes. As she held out her hand however, nothing happened. "Huh? Why can't I cast a simple fire spell?"

"Here try it like this." He walked up behind her and placed his left hand on her arm and right hand on her waist.

A soft blush came across her cheeks as she felt his warm hands on her through her uniform all the way to her skin.

"Position your body like this and hold your left hand in like that." As he directed her, he moved her left arm inwards, closer to her chest as he slid his hand around on her waist, moving her body into a combat ready stance.

Her heart began to race as he helped her learn how to cast the spell. "L..like this?"

He gave a quick nod and then let go of her. "Now just hold your hand out, focus on the spell and cast fire!"

She gave a nod and then tried to focus, she closed her eyes for a second and then held out her left arm as she opened her eyes once more, "FIRE!" Heat began to build up in the palm of her hand and a fireball formed, instantly launching at the metal plate. She blinked a few times, "I... I did it! T..that was magic!"

"Congratulations Light!" He smiled at her and pat her back as he looked into her crystalline blue eyes.

"That's incredible, how's that thing work?" She asked, moving the device from her uniform before placing it in his hands.

"In simplicity, Manadrive uses AMP tech to simulate the effects of magic." He placed the unit back down on the table, folding his arms as he leaned against the wall.

"So it isn't real magic? You know... L'cie magic?" Her eyes followed his, watching his every movement as the male rest his back against the wall.

"Sort of, it simulates the effects of magic, but it still has a lot in common with real magic."

"Oh, I understand what you mean." She gave a simple nod and then focused on his gunblade. "So what exactly are you doing to your gunblade?" Lightning walked over to the workbench and studied the complexity of the disassembled weapon.

"I'm installing modules to it that will completely enhance it's properties." He placed his hand on the bottom of the gunblade and lifted up the inner parts of the weapon, grabbing a small circular module and snapping it into a slot in his gunblade. "Alright a speed amplifier module is installed."

"Let me guess, it speeds up your weapon?" She reached down and grabbed another module, this one was inside of a plastic case and had a label. "Lightning enhancement?"

"It's a special module I made with manadrive tech, it is completely experimental, just like the technology it uses." He reached over, holding his hand out for the case, a smile on his face.

"So does it coat your weapon with Lightning?" She placed the plastic container in his hand.

"That's exactly what it does." He opened the rectangular container and removed the small circular module. He placed the module with the blue lights into the second slot of the gunblade. He reached to his left, picking up a red lit module and snapped it into place as well, a crude depiction of a sword on it. "So now I have a faster gunblade that hits heavy and electrifies targets."

"Sounds powerful, maybe you should test it out first, don't need it exploding in your face on the battlefield." She folded her arms and looked at his disassembled gunblade that the young lieutenant had already started working on in an attempt to reconstruct the now improved weapon.

After a couple of minutes, the previously littered table was mostly clear, save for a few tools and the familiar gunblade that rest on the workbench, the monitors displaying the statistics of the reformed weapon.

Lifting the gunblade off the workbench and sheathing it, he placed it at his side and fastened the leather strap to his khaki pants, allowing it to hang on his left side for easy access. He moved it around a bit and let out a sigh. "Hmm maybe this..." He took it off and tossed it over his back, strapping it over his chest, sheathing his gunblade on his back. "Hmm... much better this way, I like it." He then turned and pushed a button on the humming workbench, the monitors and sounds emitted instantly died off and shut down.

The sound of footsteps hitting the metallic floor sounded the room as the Lieutenant made his way to the exit of his room. "Why don't we see what the rest of the crew is up to?"

She simply gave a light nod and followed, the sounds of boots and metal once again filling the room. "Right, lead the way Alex."

He opened the door and they walked out, making their way to the airships rec room.

* * *

Blitz Squadron was in the rec room on the second floor of the Freedom. They were laughing and playing various games as they listened to the music that played in the background. They were celebrating their victory, why wouldn't they? It was their second win under the Lieutenant's command and they decided to have a party for their success.

The sound of glasses clanking together filled the room and the cheers could be heard throughout the halls outside of the rec room. Doors slid open and two soldiers entered the room, one pinkette and another familiar orange haired soldier.

"Well look at the cute couple that decided to join the party!" Blitz chuckled to himself as the duo walked in.

"If there's Lightning then uhh... there must be... OH! A storm coming!" Thunder high fived Blitz and began to laugh some more.

"So would that mean that a Lightning Storm is coming?" Blitz smirked, trying to hold back more laughter.

"No you idiots, can't you tell it's already Storming in here?" Amodar let out a loud boisterous laugh and all of Blitz squad could no longer hold back the laughter that had been building up. The sound of Blitz's fist hitting the table filled the room, but did not overpower the sound of their combined laughter.

Amongst the laughter, Lightning's eyes narrowed as her cheeks just barely turned a red color. "Sh..shut up, there's absolutely nothing going on between us!"

"Sure... there's nothing going on at all right Storm?" Amodar asked.

"Storm? It's Alex! Nothing at all is going on between me and Light."

"Whatever Storm, just come over and talk a bit!" Blitz smiled and held out a soda to the Lieutenant.

Alex huffed and walked over, taking the soda from him as he popped open the lid and took a sip of the drink. He sat down at the table and Thunder pat him on the back.

"It's alright, I'm the queen of Eden anyways!" He smirked and chuckled as he teased their superior officer.

"Whatever..." He took another sip of his drink and turned to the solders. "So, I heard you named your squad after Lightning."

"It's our way of respecting your girlfriend, Lightning." Blitz answered, taking off his helmet, revealing his blue eyes, shoulder length brown hair, and the smile on his face.

"She's not my girlfriend..." He sighed and rest his left cheek in the palm of his left hand. "I heard you were all friends in the Guardian Corps Academy of Bodhum..."

Lightning had walked over to the wall and rest her back against it, folding her arms as she closed her eyes, trying to relax.

"Yeah that's right, we all went to the same academy together, we became friends but getting her to open up like you have is a feat we never thought possible... Don't even know her real name honestly." Blitz turned to Lightning and looked at her, the fit pink haired woman leaning against the wall comfortably, her arms crossed across each other as she turned her gaze to them. "And I'm not telling any of you anyways."

Alex then turned back to the table and had another sip of his soda. "Whatever, just get to the party, we all deserve a break after the last two successes."

"You got that right Storm!" Amodar teased as he started the party, placing down a card game for them all to play. Torreno turned on the TV and a gaming console, challenging anyone to a match at his favorite game.

Hours passed as the nine soldiers had fun, enjoying their break in their own ways. Blitz dominated at a game of poker against Baxter and Ray, however no Gil was bet so it was all a friendly game. Alex accepted Torreno's cocky challenge along with Falcon and Thunder, beating all three of them. Amodar just talked to some soldiers and ate the party food. Lightning however was happily eating some of the chocolate that the lieutenant gave her earlier. She sat next to Alex and watched him play the game against Torreno, Falcon, and Thunder.

"Gah beaten by a Storm!" Thunder sighed and shook his head. "Good game Storm."

Alex sighed, "That nickname is going to stick isn't it?"

"As long as Lightning is over there eating your chocolate and making cute faces." Thunder gave a smirk.

"I'm not cute! I'm a professional soldier!" She snapped back with a mumble as she chewed on the chocolate.

Thunder only began to laugh once she snapped back at him. A few hours passed and the soldiers continued to talk, party, and have fun.


	8. Chapter 8 - Seat of Power

**VIII**

**Seat of Power**

Lightning was walking down the halls of the Freedom, she was looking for the lieutenant since they were getting close to the capital, Eden. As she walked through the wide hallway, dark red walls lining the area, she heard a bunch of shouts.

"Hyah! Hngh!" The sound of metal hitting something was caught by her ears. "Is he training?" The pinkette asked herself in an inaudible whisper. She turned the corner where the sounds only managed to grow louder before she fixed her eyes on the Lieutenant attacking a target with his gunblade.

"So, how are the enhancements?" She asked, folding her arms as she leaned against the wall, staring at the gunblade enveloped in lightning.

Her words caught his attention and with a soft huff, he turned to her then smiled. "It's incredible, there's no way Vark can succeed!"

"Good to know, because we're here. I have my stuff and Amodar at the airlock, we will be taking point and in five minutes the Lindblum along with the Cavalry will group with us." Lightning turned her back to him and walked out of the room.

Alex nodded at her words and sheathed his gunblade in the holster on his back. He walked out and followed the pinkette through the halls. "We should be hearing from Cid Raines soon, do you have your communicator set to the right channel?"

"Yeah, I have it set." She gave him a nod of confirmation and kept walking on his left side.

It wasn't long before the duo got to the airlock and found Amodar waiting for them, his massive machine gun propped up against the thick steel walls of the airship's interior.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting Amodar." Alex said, pulling out his communicator to wait for Cid's call.

"Not at all Storm, just relaxing a bit."

Alex gave a sigh and felt his communicator vibrate, the buzz hitting the palm of his left hand. He looked down at the device and hit a green button as he saw the name of the Colonel on the screen. "Cid Raines?"

"We are behind your airship, we are ready to proceed with your plan and will be arriving in Eden in approximately five minutes."

"Glad to hear it." Alex said, a smile to his squad.

"But one question Lieutenant... how do you intend to get your squad down to the Skywalk?" Cid asked, knowing that they weren't intending to land if they were taking the lead of their formation.

"Just leave that to me, Assassin Squad out." He ended the call and put away his communicator.

"Assassin Squad?" Lightning asked.

"We're in charge of killing Vark, that's why we are going by Assassin. I'm Assassin one, Lightning is Assassin two, and Amodar is Assassin 3 or Assassin Support."

"Right, makes sense." She grabbed her Blazefire Saber off the wall and put it in the pouch behind her thighs.

Suddenly the Freedom's intercom came to life. "Alright Assassin Squad, good luck out there!"

Alex recognized the voice as Ray's but it became harder to hear since the airlock opened and a violent current of wind tried to pull them out of the airship.

Lightning just then noticed something in Alex's hand and something familiar on his Guardian Corps uniform.

"NOW! Jump!" Alex shouted, jumping out of the door.

Amodar's eyes widened, "What!? Is he insane!?"

"Just do it!" Lightning shouted back, jumping out with Alex.

Amodar let out a sigh and followed the other two, jumping out of the Freedom.

The three could feel the violent winds pushing against them, their loose garments flowing in the powerful blasts of wind. As they fell down to Eden, Amodar clung to his large, bulky machine gun and the other two fell through the air head first. Amodar was looking upwards and could see a massive group of airships, the Freedom, the Lindblum, and at least eight other high class warships.

Alex dropped a small device, letting it fall to the ground below them. It wasn't long before the device landed on a platform and covered it in a purple energy field. Alex landed on it safely on his feet, followed by Lightning in a similar manner, both their hands on the ground and their right hands holding their gunblades at their sides. A second later, Amodar also hit the energy field, his machine gun on his chest, but due to the zero gravity field, he lifted it up and stood with ease.

"Woah that is awesome." Amodar positioned his weapon in a battle ready stance and glanced around the surrounding area. "The area looks clear of hostiles."

Gunfire could be heard in the distance, explosions every so often. The city of Eden was no longer the peaceful city that many people lived in, shopped around, had fun, and did their daily business... it was a war zone.

"From the sounds of it, we won't have to wait long before we run into Liberator forces." Alex looked around and gave a light smile as he noticed the ground far below them and the narrow walkways that made up the target destination that they had been aiming for. "We made it, we're currently at Eden's Skywalk."

"So Edenhall shouldn't be too far from here correct?" Lightning asked, glancing up at the airships as they began to close in on the Liberator's airships, cannons and weaponry charging to full power.

"Correct, the final battle begins now, we need to do our part. Everyone is counting on us to defeat Vark." Alex started to run ahead. "Assassin Squad, stay prepared for enemy forces, security around Edenhall is guaranteed to be tight."

"Yes sir." Lightning gave a nod and walked after him with Amodar.

The three weren't running, but they were walking at a fast pace. Explosions and gunfire could be heard all around them, from the fights happening on Eden's streets far below and the aerial combat in the skies.

Alex's eyes widened as he heard the hum of an engine gradually growing louder. His palms began to sweat and he grew worried. "Get down!" He shouted as he jumped to the walkway he was standing on, laying and clinging to it. The other two instantly did the same, just in time to see a white airship with red outlines on it swoop right at them and open fire. "Ratatatatatatatat!" The sound of the aircraft's minigun was all they could hear as the sparks coming off the walkway blinded them, created from the impact of metal bullets on the metalskywalk.

The sound stopped and was followed by the loud "Whoosh!" Of the aircraft flying by.

Alex then stood up and huffed, looking back at his squadmates. "Is everyone alright?"

"Y..yeah, I'm alright Storm." Amodar stood up and sighed.

Alex held his hand out to Lightning and smiled. "Hey, you alright Light?"

She grabbed his hand and nodded, standing up. "Yeah..."

"Fighter class airship, looks like it is a model built to swoop by and pick off infantry, it's safe to assume that we've been spotted and enemy troops are on their way." He started to run ahead and once again heard that humming. "He's back, find some cover!"

Alex and Lightning got behind a thick wall, crouching behind it to stay away from the second fly by. Amodar took cover behind a vehicle that was used for repairing and carrying things across the Skywalk. It didn't take long before sparks were sent flying and the sound of the minigun filled their ears. Three seconds later the airship flew past them, gaining distance before making a third run.

"Enemies!" sounded a voice from afar.

"Tch, this isn't good. They found us! We need to go now!" Alex stood up with the two and ran off further. "He will be coming by any second now, get to that cover!"

Alex's eyes widened in fear as he heard the haunting sound of the airship's engine growing louder.

"We're not going to make it to cover in time!" Lightning shouted as they realized they were completely wide open to the airship's miniguns.

Amodar stopped and looked towards the airship. "Go, now! I'll hold it off!"

"Are you mad!? It'll kill you!" Alex protested.

"And if I don't, it'll kill us all!" Amodar glared at Alex defiantly and readied his machine gun, spinning it up.

In the distance, the enemy soldiers could be seen readying their guns. "Stop them!"

Lightning grabbed Alex by the left arm and dragged him off.

"Let go Light! We have to stop him!"

The airship's missile launcher extended and aimed at Amodar, ready to blow all three of the soldiers to Valhalla.

Amodar fired first, unleashing a hailstorm of bullets at the airship, taking out it's targeting system and hitting an engine, causing the craft to begin to crash. The pilot attempted to aim the missile manually, steering against the disabled vehicle to hit Amodar and his allies.

The missile fired out of the bay and hit the skywalk, but it missed it's intended target. The skywalk collapsed and Amodar tried to run for the area that Lightning and Alex were standing. A large chunk of the skywalk gave away and all around them, they could see smoke from the missile clouding their vision. The screams of the Liberator soldiers could be heard as they fell from the collapsing skywalk. Amodar however found himself on loose flooring and as it gave away, Amodar fell far down to the streets of Eden, his scream echoing through the surrounding area.

"AMODAR!" Alex ran over to the edge of the now broken skywalk and dropped to the ground, looking for Amodar, even just a sign that he'd be fine, but all he could see was a massive drop and smoke.

"Alex, we need to continue, we can't let his sacrifice be wasted... I just can't believe it... thank you Amodar, I won't forget what you did for us." Alex sighs and then turns, looking at Lightning in the eyes as he gave a light nod. "Lets go." He walked further along the skywalk, eventually reaching an elevator. He pushed the button and stepped inside with the pinkette. The doors then shut and he pushed a button that would take them to ground level.

"Edenhall is just at the bottom of this elevator, are you alright Alex?"

Alex stayed quiet most of the way down and then turned to her eyes, two pairs of blue hues meeting the others. "I just don't like people dying under my command. That and he was a good man."

"He could still be alive Alex, we didn't see a body."

"No human can survive a fall like that. I doubt he could survive, but I will keep on hoping. He doesn't deserve to die." Alex tightened his grip around his gunblade, determination clear in his eyes.

Soon the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, they stepped out into an alley and the elevator doors shut right behind them. Alex and Lightning walked down the dark alley and began to hear two male voices up ahead.

"Hey boss are you sure about this? Our pilot got taken down, they might still be alive."

"No, they're dead. We saw that explosion, the skywalk collapsed and there is no way that anyone survived."

"But sir, even if that is the case, we need to check!"

"Nonsense, the officer won't know... besides, even if they did survive, they won't last long against Vark's second in command up at Edenhall."

"I... I guess you're right."

"Of course I am. I'm always right! Now come on, lets hit the bar!"

The sound of about five more soldiers cheering was heard and then the sounds of footsteps hitting the pavement filled their ears. A mere second or two later, Alex and Lightning both saw the large group of soldiers run down the street, passing the alley that the two were in.

Alex and Lightning hugged the wall, staying out of sight as the Liberator squad passed by. After the squad was gone, Alex peeked around the corner and saw that there was nobody there. He walked out into the street and signaled for Lightning to follow him.

The pinkette walked after him and the two followed the road towards Edenhall.


	9. Chapter 9 - Decura

**IX**

**Decura**

* * *

As Alex and Lightning ran through the streets of Eden, Alex glanced up to the skies, seeing the many massive airships in conflict. A large laser shot out of the Freedom, hitting one of the Liberator warships. The Lindblum was taking heavy fire from Liberator fighter class airships, it was an easy target due to it's massive size, but it didn't take long for a bunch of hatches to open and what seemed like a thousand laser beams erupted from it's body, destroying many of the small airships.

Turning a corner, Alex saw a massive building to their right. There was no door, it was just a massive hollow entry hall that lead to a large door deeper into the building that would lead them further in. The large, open entrance hall had been fortified by the Liberators to defend the building, but it wasn't guarded by soldiers at the minute.

"Look over there." Lightning whispered as she extended her left arm out, her index finger pointing to the left side of the really wide street. Liberator soldiers were behind cover and firing at something, most likely Sanctum soldiers since there were bullets hitting the Liberators.

"It seems they're holding up, but they intend to fall back and lead our soldiers into a trap." He then looked back at Edenhall's main entrance and decided he would sneak into the entrance hall. "Come on Light, this way."

"But shouldn't we provide assistance?" She followed him but watched the large battle that was now taking place behind them.

"That's what I have in mind, but even if we flank them, there's only two of us against all of them." He walked down the large entrance hall and spotted an armored turret. "We'll use this as soon as they retreat and try to use their fortifications against our soldiers, instead they'll be the ones in a trap. Lightning, you watch my back in case they get reinforcements from within Edenhall, it's still obviously controlled by the enemy."

"Yes, right away." She gave a nod and knelt down behind the turret, keeping her eyes focused on the large door that led deeper into Edenhall as the Lieutenant climbed up into the turret's seat.

"Well this is surprisingly comfortable." He grabbed the handles and aimed the barrel down the hallway.

A couple of minutes of nothing but the exchange of gunfire was heard in the distance before the soldiers were ordered to fall back into Edenhall. Once they started to run, they entered the large room and Sanctum soldiers began to take cover behind the barricades that the Liberator's had been using in the streets.

As soldiers fled, the Lieutenant pushed one button on the left handle and the turret's gun began to spin up. The Liberator's began to panic and wonder why the turret was spinning up without anybody in it, however it didn't take them too long before they figured out that they had fallen into their own trap.

The Lieutenant placed his thumb down on the red button of the turret's right handle, and in an instant the whole room echoed with the sound of heavy machine gun fire. Liberator soldiers fell to the ground in seconds, looking much like Swiss cheese as the room instantaneously filled with bodies of the enemy soldiers.

Alex let go of the button and smoke came off of the hot barrel of the machine gun.

He hopped out and realized that the Liberators had shot quite a few bullets at him but none of them managed to penetrate the metal barrier of the turret. He hadn't even managed to realize that they gave a considerable effort in fighting back because he had been behind a powerful and loud machine.

The few remaining Liberators were instantly put at a disadvantage, having to fight against not only Assassin Squad and the Sanctum soldiers, but also the mechanical Behemoths that had already closed in and were finishing them off with their fangs, claws, and massive cleavers.

Lightning signaled at Alex to follow her and he did so, follow her and he did so, following her around the long curvy hallway to a large throne room that was heavily decorated. Liberator banners hung from the ceiling, the room decorated in red with nobody in sight.

Alex glanced around the room, looking at the flames and Sanctum bodies around the room, still not convinced that there was nobody in the room with them. "Careful Lightning, Vark has to be here somewhere... It may be a trap."

"Right..." She sighed and looked around, afraid of what they may encounter, but showing no sign of her fear.

The sound of footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the room, it didn't take long for them to spot a man with silver hair that extended halfway down his back. He wore a large, black coat that extended down to his knees, golden trim and a shoulder pad on his left shoulder. The lights on his shoulder pad were a sky blue color, a color that anybody would recognize.

Lightning's eyes focused on the male who had appeared in front of her. "A Knight Captain? That means... he killed Vark?"

Alex narrowed his eyes and spoke in a more serious tone. "No... he's a Liberator. Remember what the soldiers said earlier?"

Lightning thought back to the squad of soldiers and realized that Alex was correct, this man was Vark's second in command.

"Smart kids... so you're the remnants of Shield Division? Led by that fool you call a Knight Captain, Advar." He narrowed his eyes and smirked at the two, looking at their ranks. "Heh, this is what they sent to kill us!? A Lieutenant and his recruit girlfriend? I didn't expect the Fal'cie's little Sanctum to be so desperate!"

"What about it? We are the ones who have been taking Liberator territory back!" Alex narrowed his eyes and looked around the room for enemies, he knew it would be impossible to conceal a lot of soldiers in the room, but he wanted to ensure that they were alone.

"Oh? So you're the annoying little pest that took away Palumpolum and the Gapra Whitewood? It's not a problem, we took your precious Eden and soon we will reach Orphan!"

"Orphan? You can't! If you destroy Orphan, Cocoon will fall from the sky!" Alex took a step forward and stared defiantly at the loud man.

"That's only one step that will lead to our Fal'cie free world!"

"So that's your true purpose? Make it look like controlling Cocoon and overthrowing the Sanctum is your goal and in reality you intend to go on a Fal'cie hunt!" Alex raised his hand and unsheathed his gunblade from it's holster.

"But you're a Knight Captain. Why not lead the Liberators yourself? Vark is just a General." Lightning stared into the mans green eyes.

"Huh? Ohhh you must mean my trophy? Missy, I was Lieutenant General when I blindly followed PSICOM... I killed this Knight Captain with my own blade!" He let out a loud laugh and narrowed his eyes at Alex, licking his lips slightly. "Hehehe you may not be a Knight Captain, but you'll prove to be a fun toy to play with... before I kill you..."

Alex's eyes widened a bit. "N..No way... you're Zack, the one who went insane and killed your whole squad!"

"Heheheh, I hope you won't disappoint my blades, they thirst for your blood!"

"Tch, I don't intend to die here! The two of us have people to fight for!" Alex changed his gunblade to gun mode and Lightning pulled out her weapon, nodding at Alex.

"Good... I'll greet them once I stain the walls in your blood!"

Lightning huffed, clearly annoyed by this guy. "The walls will be getting a new layer of blood... but it won't be ours!" She opened fire at him and he took his two swords, blocking the bullets with the hard steel of the blades. "Oh this is the warmup isn't it!? I wasn't expecting gunblade wielders!" He charged at them, quickly closing distance to Alex.

Alex noticed that by the time Zack reaches him, he wouldn't have time to react, so he switched his gunblade back to sword mode, electricity sparking across the length of the weapon.

Zack brought his blade down and it clashed with a loud "CLANK!" He regained his balance and moved his second sword at a horizontal slash. "How long will you last!?"

Alex kicked Zack in the stomach, stunning him just long enough to make a diagonal strike at the man.

The gunblade struck against Zack and he let out a scream as the lightning on the gunblade began to shock him. The instant the blade connected, Zack was sent flying back into the wall with massive force.

"Hngh!" Zack stood back up and narrowed his eyes at Alex. "Interesting... you made a customized weapon." He raised his swords into the air and he became surrounded in shadows. "Time to show you my true darkness!" He then pointed his sword at Alex and the shadows charged out at him in four tube shaped spears. They arched and tried to strike at Alex, but instead they missed their target when Alex dodged by jumping out of the way. The shadows disappeared the second they hit the ground and Alex stood back up.

"Wha!? Magic?" Alex's eyes widened and he looked around the room for where Zack had escaped off to.

"Heheheh this is what that cursed Fal'cie did to me!" He popped out of the ground and struck at Alex, his blades now enveloped in shadows.

"Tch, so you're a L'cie!?" He narrowed his eyes and focused on his enemy, blocking his attack with his gunblade.

"A curse that those infernal machines cast on me!" He then threw his left hand out and shot a massive fireball at Alex. "FIRA!"

Alex knew he wouldn't be able to dodge in time so he held out his left hand. "Water!" A bunch of water appeared out of nowhere and extinguished his fireball.

"W..what!? You're a L'cie too!?" Zack scoffed and charged at Alex with his sword ready to swing.

Alex noticed and blocked the sword by hitting Zack's sword with his gunblade, he then counter attacked by kneeing Zack in the chest and shoving his left hand into him. "THUNDARA!" He shouted as he sent Lightning through his body, sending him flying back as smoke came off his body.

Lightning had managed to move into position while they were fighting and she swung her Blazefire Saber at Zack, shredding through his robes and causing a massive cut across his chest once he turned around. He then cast a spell and disappeared, showing up behind Alex in an instant.

"Ever since that day, the Fal'cie cursed me! Made me it's slave! I refuse to obey it!" He charged at Alex and was dangerously close, not giving him enough time to turn around and hit him. As Alex turned, he felt the blade stab through his stomach, but Alex managed to stab Zack through his chest.

"Alex!" Lightning shouted as she rushed over and sheathed her gunblade.

Alex winced in pain and fell to the ground, Zack's sword sliding out of his body. As Zack also fell, Alex's grip on his gunblade pulled it out and the two breathed heavily.

"Heh... this is... the end huh? It seems my sins have finally been paid for..." Zack laughed a bit, but it wasn't a loud one like before, he had a hard time, barely being able to breathe.

"Wh..what are you talking about?" Alex asked as he turned his gaze to Zack.

"Decura Division... it was..." He coughed up some blood and grabbed his chest. "Hngh! I..It was led by Knight Captain, Decura. She was the first female..."

"The first female Knight Captain... I remember." Alex sighed and closed his eyes. "You killed her along with your division and took her shoulder pad as a trophy didn't you?"

"N..no... when I became a L'cie, I lost it... I couldn't bear..." He coughed up more blood and grasped his chest in pain. "I... couldn't bear being cursed to die, become a cie'th, or be a crystal... Y..yes I killed her and took her shoulder pad... b..but I took it because I couldn't believe what I had done... I killed the woman I loved out of my fear."  
Alex's eyes widened a bit. "Y..you took her shoulder pad... because you loved her and wanted to keep her by your side forever, to keep her memory alive?"

"Yes, and by killing me you have made me pay for my crimes... heh... I always knew I'd get what I deserved all these years..." His coughing grew worse and he closed his eyes. "I.. I met a worthy opponent... Thank you for the entertainment... Rosa Decura... I'll be with you again, these soldiers they can stop Vark..."

Alex looked up to find Lightning with her hands on his stomach, he then noticed that she was wearing his manadrive engine and was charging a spell.

"Curaga!" She cast the spell on him and his body was surrounded in a bright blue light. The wounds on his body sealed up and he could feel his strength returning to him.

"Light? Y..you healed me..." He smiled lightly and placed his hand on the ground, sitting up as he looked into her eyes.

"Of course, I'm not going to just let you die." She placed her hand flat on his chest and pushed him back down to the floor. "Don't move yet, you need to rest real for a little bit."

Alex nodded, "Right, shouldn't take long... thanks Lightning, you probably saved my life..."

She nodded and sat down beside him, waiting for his body to fully heal.


	10. Chapter 10 - It's a Trap

**X**

**It's a Trap**

* * *

Lightning continued to sit by Alex's side, she kept looking around the room, keeping watch so they wouldn't be ambushed by enemy reinforcements. Something didn't sit right for the pinkette, they were already in Edenhall's throne room, where would Vark be if he wasn't here and why was it so quiet inside the capital? Wouldn't the enemy be at their strongest inside their own base?

As the thoughts lingered in her mind, she sighed and looked at Alex. "Doesn't something seem off to you?"

"You mean how quiet it is right?" He nodded, "Yeah, it doesn't sit right with me."

In that instant, a holographic display appeared in front of the throne room, a familiar man in a long, black uniform was shown. His uniform was decorated with ribbons and sashes to add a sense of superiority in his rank. His shoulder pad was more exquisite and decorative, a dark green color shown on the lights, marked him as a General. The General smiled slightly when he saw the three people in the room, his silverish, white hair extending past his shoulders and framing his face.

"So these are the last remnants of Shield Division... Lieutenant Alexander Issac and Private Lightning Farron. I would have thought that by eliminating my old friend, Advar your division would've disbanded, but what do we have other than a lowly lieutenant who's decided to play Knight Captain."

Alex narrowed his eyes and glared at Vark. "General Vark, there's nowhere to run, we're coming for you! We already defeated Zack Decura!"

"Oh my second in command? I was planning on disposing of him myself if he had killed you. I must admit you are more powerful than you appear if you could manage to defeat him, but you simply made my job easier."

Zack's eyes opened and he turned to Vark, shooting a glare of anger at him. "Wh..what!?"

Vark focused on Zack and gave a small smile. "Yes, you heard me right, you're just a pawn Zack, you're too dangerous to let live so I figured I'd let you remove this thorn from my side and then I would get rid of you."

"Tch... I'll kill you Vark, I'll paint the walls in your blood!"

Vark shook his head. "No, you won't... none of you will because this is where you all meet your end. I'll be sure to deliver the news to Alex's family and Serah while I'm in Bodhum."

"What!?" Both Alex and Lightning's eyes widened and then narrowed at Vark, anger in their eyes and worry for their families.

"Goodbye Zack, Alex, and Lightning." Vark pushed a button, prompting a timer with five seconds to appear on the screen in place of Vark since he had ended the transmission.

Five, four, three, two... the clock beeped with each time the number decreased, when it hit two it became a little blurry and glitched, going back up to 60 seconds.

Zack huffed, "That isn't enough time for you to escape... I can't move anymore, I'm going to die here... but you two."

Lightning turned her gaze to Zack and nodded. "It isn't enough time to get out of here..."

Alex began to sit up, feeling better now. "Even so, I'm not sitting here to die, we still need to defeat that traitor."

Zack nodded and closed his eyes. "You need to live... kill General Vark, make him pay..."

"I intend to." Alex was now standing up as if nothing had happened to him.

"Good... then go!" Zack formed a dark, purple crystal that was shaped like a small flame in his hand. "Odin..." He crushed it in his hand and fell back, the crystal shattered and fell to the ground. A large, dark purple, semi-transparent square appeared on the ground, it had what seemed like a ball of fire in the center and there was some strange language written on the shapes. The room was filled with light and a second later, a mechanical horse appeared. It was white with green and yellow armor and it had eight purple lights for eyes. The sound of the horse whinnying filled the room with an echo as it raised it's front hooves and held it's head high before trotting over to Alex and Lightning. It lowered itself to let them on it's back.

"Looks like this is our only chance, come on Light." He hopped on the back of the horse and Lightning did so just after him, getting on behind him. Sitting behind Alex, she had started to hold on, the horse ran off in a gallop. The sound of hooves hitting the floor were easily audible throughout the rooms as Odin rushed to escape before the bomb went off and killed them all.

Just then, Alex's communicator vibrated and he reached down, putting it on speaker. "Yeah?"

"Storm are you there? It's me Amodar!"

"Amodar, you're alive!" Alex said with a smile on his face, excited to hear that he had survived that fall from earlier.

Lightning couldn't help but let a small smile come across her face upon hearing the sergeant's voice, she almost lost balance and reached forward to grab onto Alex, her arms wrapping around his stomach. "T..tell this thing to be more careful!"

Alex felt her head resting on his back and her arms around him. "I think he's just trying to get us out before that bomb goes off!"

Amodar spoke once more with a sigh of relief. "Good you already know about the bomb, I managed to delay its five second timer to a full minute, but you need to get out now, we're waiting for you outside!"

Alex shouted back, trying to speak over the galloping of the horse. "Right, we'll be there. Thanks Amodar!"

The call ended and Alex smirked, seeing the exit of Edenhall just up ahead, the bright light from outside shining in.

Odin then leaped down a flight of stairs and a loud explosion was heard just behind them, a second later the explosion brought down the roof in the hall that they had just traveled down, debris falling and blocking the door that led back into Edenhall.

They found that they were back at the large street in front of Edenhall and they saw a ton of Sanctum soldiers staring at them and the horse they were riding on. In that crowd were two soldiers walking over to them, one was obviously Amodar and the second had a red light on his shoulder pad, signifying him as an Officer.

Lightning let go of Alex and got off of the horse, Alex dismounting just after her. He smiled at the horse and ran his hand across the muzzle of the horse, petting it. "Thank you for saving us."

"Thanks..." Lightning nodded and then moved her gaze down the horse, she noticed the words on the armor of the horse and attempted to read the letters, but had no success other than noting that the language was similar to the summoning circle that had appeared earlier..

"Where did you guys get the horse?" Amodar watched them, glad to see they were still alive.

"Someone summoned it and saved our lives... a L'cie." Alex stopped petting the horse and turned to Amodar.

Once Alex let go of the horse, it bowed it's head and then started to trot off, floating up into the air before disappearing.

The officer removed his helmet, revealing his thick, brown hair and blue eyes. "Officer Rygdea of the Guardian Corps. I was asked by Colonel Raines to collect a report from your squad about Vark's death."

"It was a trap, he's not here." Alex sighed and folded his arms.

"What!? A trap... do you know where he is?" Amodar asked in shock.

Alex stayed quiet for a minute, his mind thinking about his family. "Bodhum... he's going to Bodhum..."

Amodar's fist tightened. "N..no..."

Rygdea nodded, "We need to get going then... we'll go immediately."

Lightning then nodded as well, but didn't say anything.

"Than you, we're returning to the Freedom and we'll head to Bodhum."

Rygdea gave a faint smile. "I'll come with you, I can always talk to Raines over your comm room."

Alex nodded, "Alright, we'll need an army, there's no doubt in my mind that Vark is already close to Bodhum with a massive force of Liberator soldiers."

"Now you're thinking like a Knight Captain." Alex recognized the familiar male's voice. It was a voice he would recognize anywhere.

He turned around and saw an older, orange haired male in a Guardian Corps uniform, two sky blue lights decorated his shoulder pad. ""Radiant!" He smiled lightly, glad to see his older brother with him.

"I heard everything, Vark's in Bodhum... I think it's about time we stop him, we can't let him destroy our home." Radiant wrapped his arm around Alex, resting his arm on his shoulder. "So I hear you've become the leader of Shield Division... I'm sorry about Advar, but Vark will get what's coming to him."

"I'm sure he will, just wait until you see our ride." Alex smiled and looked at Lightning, seeing how she was really worried. "Serah will be fine too alright?"

Lightning nodded, "T..thanks Alex, let's get going."

Alex nodded and used his communicator to call Blitz Squadron. "Blitz, Alex here. I need a pickup, we're heading to Bodhum immediately, I'll fill you in when we contact Raines."

"Alright, we'll send down a shuttle for extraction, we'll be there in five minutes."

"Thanks, Alex out." He ended the call and put away his communicator, dropping it into the right pocket on his Guardian Corps jacket.

After a short while, a small shuttle came down from the sky, landing on the large, wide open street. The door to the shuttle opened up and Blitz was waiting inside for them to get in.

Alex gave a light smile as he walked over to the shuttle, he placed his hand on the top and climbed in, taking a seat in the shuttle.

Lightning didn't hesitate to get in, the sooner she could see Serah, the happier she'd be.

The rest of the group got in. Radiant, Amodar, Rygdea... They were ready to finish the fight and put an end to Vark's plans once and for all. The shuttle doors closed and they began to rise, flying back to the Freedom.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Promise

**XI**

**The Promise**

* * *

Once again aboard the Freedom, Alex had already assigned Blade and Rygdea a room, they took about twenty minutes of downtime before they walked into the comm room again.

Metal doors parted, allowing entry for the Lieutenant as he entered the croweded room. Two more seats were added to accommodate Radiant and Rygdea. Alex walked around the chairs and took a seat in his spot.

The center holographic display hummed to life and once more, Cid Raines was standing in front of him, wearing his formal attire. "I already received Rygdea's report on the situation and am well aware that he's decided to go to Bodhum with you."

Alex nodded, "Yes, we intend to stop him, not just for Cocoon's sake, but for our homes too."

Cid folded his arms and closed his eyes, thinking to himself for a bit. "Tell me... what did you and Private Farron see in Edenhall?"

Alex stayed quiet, trying to collect his thoughts and form the words to explain what exactly had transpired within Cocoon's capital. "We... we encountered Zack Decura... He was working for the Liberators as Vark's second in command, he wanted to kill Orphan."

Cid's eyes widened in surprise. "Th...then the fact that you stopped him when you did saved all of Cocoon."

"Maybe... he was driven mad when he became a L'cie years ago and so Vark may have only used that to earn his loyalty... Vark was hoping he could eliminate us then use a bomb to take him out, I can't imagine Vark placing a lot of trust or value in him if he intended to eliminate him."

"Vark always has been cold and calculating, he'll do anything to achieve his goals." Cid huffed, then shook his head in dismissal of the topic. "I heard you both barely escaped on a mechanical horse?"

Alex nodded, "I think... it was an Eidolon sir."

"An Eidolon? Lieutenant I didn't call to hear of fairytales."

"I know that... but Zack summoned the creature as he was dying in order to help us escape. So it may have been just that. It's the only possible thing that comes to mind and Zack's confirmed existence as a L'cie further proves my speculation." Alex explained in a calm tone.

"Maybe... but what matters now is that Vark is already in Bodhum as we speak. The city is under attack right this second."

Lightning's eyes widened in fear, one word escaping her lips in an almost inaudible tone that was only picked up by the Lieutenant's ears. "Serah..."

Alex glanced over at Lightning, noticing the worry in her eyes. "Then would you lend us a hand? We know Vark is there. He can't run now, it'll be the final fight and having the Cavalry to assist will help tremendously."

Cid nodded, "We're going as well, we're already on our way there. However, there is one matter that needs to be attended to... Knight Captain, Radiant Issac."

Radiant nodded, already aware of what was going on. "I know that Shield Division is currently without a Knight Captain, but I would like to suggest that Alex keeps leadership, he's done an excellent job so far, work that nobody thought possible., besides I'm not exactly the kind of Knight Captain who leads. His division has already grown comfortable under his command anyways."

Cid raised his voice a little, "But what if he fails now? We can't possibly entrust a huge mission like this to him!"

Radiant nodded, "I understand, but if I recall he has shown excellent leadership so far and the plan to assault Eden was his. Maybe he isn't a Knight Captain, but he is my brother and if you insult him, you insult me Colonel Raines. My brother has shown skill worthy of a Knight Captain and I will stand by his side all the way!"

Alex looked at Blade in shock, he knew that his removal of command was inevitably going to be mentioned at this meeting, after all he was only a Lieutenant, but to see his brother stand up for him like this, a smile formed on his face, happy to hear the words and support.

Cid huffed in annoyance, fine sir... if that is your decision I have no choice but to grant it... but hear this, if Alex fails to eliminate Vark, it's on your name!"

"He's not only our ally or our leader... he's our friend and we're not taking orders from anyone else... we've come this far and there's no reason to change what's been working." Blitz chimed in too, backing up their friend.

"G..guys..." Alex listened, in shock of everything he was hearing, this wasn't just his division now, these were his friends and family.

Lightning got up and left the room, the doors parting then shutting behind her.

"Light?" Alex asked in a whisper, worried about her.

"Fine, I see how storng your bond is... Alex you better make sure everyone is commited, when we hit Bodhum the real fight is going to start." Cid then disappeared and the dimmed lights of the room turned back up to their full brightness.

Alex turned to everyone and a slight smile came across his face. "Thanks everyone, to be honest I wasn't quite sure what I was doing when I took over as leader of Shield Division, but I realize that my leadership isn't it. It's our bond as friends that kept us strong this long, our hopes for our families and homes, this would not have been possible without every one of you, so I'd like to thank you for making this all possible, we won't let them take away our home."

Everyone nodded and let out a cheer before heading out of the room.

Alex let out a sigh and thought about the look of fear on the pinkette's face. He pondered to himself on the thought of ensuring she was fine. A few seconds later, he walked out and the lights dimmed slowly to a darkness.

Alex's boots hitting the metal floor of the narrow hallways were the only audible sound that was caught by only his own ears. He passed by the walla, decorated by only his own ears. He passed by the walls, decorated by red lights and red paint.

The male, came by a door and turned to it, the name, 'Lightning' displayed on the digital name tag. Alex walked into the room, once again finding himself in the rectangular shaped room with the dark red couch to his left, the bed directly ahead, and the table with two chairs fashioned from a fine wood, the paint giving a slight shine to the material.

At the table he saw Lightning sitting in the chair closest to him, her back turned to him as she rest her head on her arms, laying flat on the table.

"Lightning?" Alex asked, the doors shutting behind him as he walked to the table.

The pinkette didn't respond, not even a slight movement from her was registered in the Lieutenant's mind. He walked over, the sound of his footsteps unusually loud due to the silence in the room. He pulled out the second chair and took a seat as he looked at her.

"Hey Light? I know you're worried about Serah, aren't you?"

She rubbed her head into her arm, trying to rub something off her face using the cloth of her arm warmer. She then glanced up at him, crystalline blue eyes covered by a few tears, she huffed and shook her head. "Who's worried? I.. I know that she's fine, now get out of here and let me relax."

"Light, I know that's not true. You're worried that the Liberators might do something to her aren't you?"

The woman huffed then nodded lightly. "Yeah... She's all I have left, she's the only important person left in my life."

"I know... look, I have my whole family in Bodhum... my mother, father, and my little sister. She's only nine years old. I'm worried about all of them, but I have to stay strong. We can't give up Light, I'm sure our families are okay."

Lightning nodded and sighed. "I usually don't let others see me in a state like this, but you've been a good friend... I'll fight my hardest when we get to Bodhum, not only because Vark needs to answer for what he's done, but for both our families... I lost my parents when I was young and so I had to grow up for Serah. I changed my name because I thought it'd help me move past it and toughen up... I see now that I can only get that strength by working hard to protect the things I care about."

Alex nodded, "May I ask what your real name is?"

She hesitated and sighed, "I don't see why it matters... but I'll make you a deal. After we win this war and reunite with our families... I'll tell you alright?"

Alex nodded and smiled lightly, "And I'll hold you to your word."

She let out a soft chuckle and smiled just lightly, barely noticed by him, it was the first smile he had gotten out of her in a while.

"Alex can you answer a question for me?"

He nodded as he looked into her eyes, a smile on his face. "Yeah, of course."

"Why do you care so much about your allies and how I feel?" She folded her arms. "I don't understand you, I mean... what's it matter to you if I'm upset or worried... You're constantly trying to be our friend, it's odd... you're our leader."

"It's only really odd because you're not used to it. It's how I am. I want everyone to be alright because everyone on this ship is important to me, they're all my friend... including you."

"You didn't have to come here and cheer me up, I don't understand why." She looked away, trying to think of any reason why he'd possibly care so much.

"Well... how about I tell you when we finish the mission?" Alex gave a small smile.

"Huh?" She raised a brow at him. "How come?"

"We'll both have something to live for, something to look forward to after this war instead of just our families Light... You said Serah was the last thing important to you... now you've got something else." Alex stood up, the smile still on his face.

"Oh right..." She nodded and folded her arms. "I guess I didn't look at it that way."

Alex walked over to the door and stopped as he heard her voice.

"Thanks..."

"Hmm?" He turned to her.

"For coming and cheering me up Alex."

He gave a lighthearted smile and nodded, "No, thank you for saving my life Light." He then walked out of her room, the doors opening and then closing behind him.

Lightning's smile remained and the warmth from his presence lingered as if there was truly hope in the air, hope for Serah and hope that they'd fulfill their promise.


	12. Chapter 12 - The Warpath Home

**XII**

**The Warpath Home**

* * *

It felt like an eternity had passed on board the Freedom, in reality it had only been ten hours. The Freedom was the lead ship in a large fleet of airships. The Lindblum followed shortly behind the Freedom, a swarm of other airships following as if they were children clinging to the parents.

The rest of the time on the airship passed by when everyone took time to prepare. Alex had spent time in the training room with Lightning, Rygdea spent time communicating with Cid over the ship's comm channel. Radiant spent time watching Alex train with Lightning, and Blitz Squad chatted as they piloted the Freedom.

Blue energy emissions trailed out into the sky, the AMP Technology suspending and propelling the airships to their destination. Out the windows, the soldiers could stare out as the clouds passed by the night sky.

The Freedom's intercom came to life and the voice of Blitz was immediately recognized by everyone on the airship. "We will be arriving at Bodhum in ten minutes!"

Everyone on the airship immediately grabbed their equipment and went to the bridge. They looked out the large window and noticed that the clouds parted to reveal Bodhum, but it was different than they left it.

Bodhum was easy to see, lit up from the fires and and explosions that they could see, even from their far distance in the airship. Alex, Lightning, Amodar, and Radiant all were in shock upon seeing their home under attack. Two fighter class airships zoomed by them, followed by many more. Blue emissions blurred their view as they closed in on Bodhum.

In the distance, a massive warship was easily in sight. They immediately recognized the large warship in the distance that was slowly flying toward them, tons of smaller airships following beside it.

"The Devourer..." Alex's eyes narrowed on it as they slowly grew closer. "Blitz Squad, prepare to fire the shield disruptor cannons!"

The squad immediately began to hastily get in their battle stations.

They noticed the Devourer's weapon compartments were open, revealing the many lasers charging up. It was in that instant that the airship shook moderately.

Torreno then shouted out, "Enemy fighter class airships are attacking our fleet! Shields are at 98%"

Thunder tapped his fingers on the board of the terminal, he eyeballed the distance counter, gradually dropping between them and the Devourer as they closed in. Once it dropped to 1000, he hit the button. "Firing the Shield Disruptor cannons!"

Through the window, they could see a bunch of missiles launch off, heading toward the Devourer. A second later the Freedom shook once more, the enemy fighter crafts quickly whittling down their shields.

Torreno alerted everyone again, "Shields at 40% power!"

Alex huffed, knowing their shields would fail if this continued, but in an instant, he saw lasers hit all the fighter crafts, destroying them all in mere seconds. Alex looked to the side of the airship where he saw the Lindblum, steam coming off it's many lasers. A smirk came to Alex's lips as he realized the situation they were in. They could win this.

"Fire the laser while they're open!"

Thunder hit another button and in an instant, a massive laser beam shot out of the Freedom.

The missiles hit the Devourer and it's shields began to flicker, being completely disabled, the laser hit immediately afterward, tearing through the armor of the airship and dealing massive damage as if Vark's warship was tissue paper.

The many laser compartments on the Devourer then fired, and a ton of Sanctum fighters were instantly blown up and about 10 lasers hit the Freedom's shields again.

Torreno then shouted out, "We've lost shields Alex!"

Thunder smiled at the analysis on his monitor. "We've taken down their targeting sensors and damaged their airship severely!"

"Let the laser recharge and fire the twin beams!" Alex shouted the order as he kept an eye on the Devourer.

Thunder then pushed the button, two small twin lasers hitting the enemy airship.

The Devourer then lowered a massive laser cannon, charging it up and aiming it right at the Freedom.

Alex knew exactly what that was and looked at Thunder. "If they fire that thing, we're all dead! Destroy it with the primary laser cannon!"

Thunder pushed another few buttons and that same massive laser fired. It ripped through the armor of the laser cannon and it blew up, causing a massive explosion.

The Devourer started to fall to the ground, the explosion having knocked out the engines.

A single of shuttles shot out of the Devourer, crashing toward the ground. The Lindblum then fired it's own laser and blew the Devourer completely to bits.

Everyone cheered except for Alex. He walked to a terminal and scanned the area for that shuttle. "He's alive..." He looked at the monitor and huffed. "We're going down there, We're finishing Vark." He then looked at his friends and smiled at them. "light, Radiant, Amodar, Rygdea... can you four come with me? We've got one last mission, the mission to end this war and save our home."

They nodded and then Alex turned to Blitz Squadron. "I want all of you to keep the Freedom safe alright?"

Blitz nodded. "Alright Storm, been a pleasure working with you... go show Vark what happens to anyone who messes with Bodhum!"

The other five all left the bridge and walked down the halls of the airship, when it shook. A loud sound of metal hitting metal sounded through the airship. The intercom came on and Falcon's voice was speaking in panic.

"Liberator grapplers have latched onto us! We're being boarded!"

Four small lasers could be seen on the wall, moving in a counterclockwise motion, a loud "Tssssk" was caught in their ears as they drew their weapons, knowing they'd need to be ready to battle. In a matter of seconds, the metal wall fell to the ground and a small squad of soldiers entered the airship.

"Sanctum lapdogs, eliminate them!" The Liberator soldiers raised their assault rifles and got ready to fire.

Radiant then reached up and over his shoulders, his hands tightening around the handles of his gunblades and the ringing of steel could be heard as they slipped out of their leather sheaths. In an instant, there was a bright flash as Radiant charged through the group of soldiers, blades swirling in a whirlwind as the sound of cold steel slicing through flesh was heard. Radiant then placed his dual gunblades back over his back, turning to Alex and the others as the Liberators fell to the ground in a pool of blood. "You coming?"

Alex shook his head and started to run down the hallway with everyone. As they came across more soldiers, they sliced and gunned their way past them, gradually repelling the Liberator assault as they lowered the entire Freedom towards the crash site of Vark's shuttle.

A few seconds later, the Freedom shook violently.

"Thunder to Storm, Thunder to Storm, do you read me?" The voice was heard over his communicator.

"Yeah I read you, what's that shaking from a minute ago?"

"They have anti air and don't want us near Vark so we're setting you down a little bit further."

"Understood Thunder, Stor... Alex out!" Alex huffed, knowing that it had stuck.

A few minutes passed and the massive door opened, a gust of wind hit them. This time it wasn't near as much of a drop as it was back in Eden, but it was still reason to utilize his Grav-Con unit.

"Jump!"

Radiant and Rygdea looked at him like he was insane, but as the others knew what Alex had in mind, they lined up and the three leapt out.

The other two hesitated but then figured that the three of them had an idea so they jumped out seconds later.

The five soldiers quickly fell closer to bodhum, the city they could all see in flames put them at unease, but they knew that this was why Vark had to be stopped.

Alex grabbed the Grav-Con unit from his pocket and dropped it ahead of him as they fell through the gusts of air, their clothes and hair fluttering quickly in the winds.


	13. Chapter 13 - Fate of Cocoon

**XIII**

**Fate of Cocoon**

* * *

A small device hit the ground and in that instant a purple energy field covered a large area of the ground. Alex landed safely, followed by Lightning, Amodar, Radiant, and Rygdea.

Alex picked up the small Grav-Con Device and placed it in his pocket. "Alright we're a short distance from our objective, we'll need to move through the city, making our way to Vark."

They nodded and then drew their weapons, it was a guarantee that they would end up having to fight Liberators along the way through the streets of Bodhum. As they passed by burning buildings and dead bodies, they heard both the sound of gunfire and the screams of citizens in panic.

"T..this is terrible..." Alex huffed and clenched his fist.

"We'll make them pay, alright Alex?" Radiant spoke softly, finding it hard to see his home like this. It was difficult for them all.

A second later, a door slammed open and three Liberator soldiers stepped out. They had yet to notice the five who had now taken cover so they could eavesdrop on the enemy.

"Hey another house cleared, right?"

"Yeah, nobody is a match for us, I can't believe the Sanctum got here this quick, I even heard that the General killed Shield Divisions... Should be the last we hear of that annoying Lieutenant."

The third soldier chuckled, "Heh yeah, now there won't be anymore delays when we take back Eden and establish a human empire, it's a shame those Sanctum lovers don't see why the Sanctum needs to go down."

The first one shook his head, "It's cause they're too busy kissing the Primarch's wrinkled rear end to see that Liberator rule is the only true answer."

The second huffed, "Shut up you two! Alex may be dead, but his brother is probably nearby!"

The first Liberator's eyes widened in fear, " ? Knight Captain, Radiant is here!?"

The second nodded, "Yeah, and he's probably not in a good mood since Vark blew his brother to bits!"

Alex looked at Radiant, "Looks like they think I'm dead... can't believe I got this much of a reputation with the Liberators."

Radiant nodded and smiled, "Not just the Liberators... Your name has become a beacon of hope for the Sanctum."

"Really? Well guess we should finish these guys off, they haven't spotted us yet so they're open to pre-emptive strike."

"Right, lead the way Alex." Lightning switched her gunblade to gun mode.

"Amodar, Rygdea watch our back." Alex ordered as he peeked around the corner, his gunblade ready to take them out.

They nodded in compliance and Rygdea smirked, "Heh, leavin' us outta the action Alex?" Whatever, we've got your six.

Alex, Lightning, and Radiant got out of cover. Lightning unloaded four bullets into a soldier, the other two turned to them.

"Wha!? Alex and Radiant!?" Before they had a chance to retaliate, Alex sliced his gunblade through one soldier and Radiant made a slash with his right gunblade, making the soldier stagger as he transformed his left gunblade instantly, bringing the barrel of the gun to his face before pulling the trigger.

Blood splattered and bodies fell to the ground, Alex walked over, knelt down and placed his hand over the bodies.

"Liberator special forces, explains how they knew so much about Vark's bombing." He then stood up and glanced at his squad. "We need to get going, Vark could easily escape."

They nodded and the squad slowly made their way through the burning streets of Bod hum.

They spotted a woman running down the street, she was being chased by two Liberators and had a face of fear. Running in her pink dress, she tripped and cowered on the ground. The soldiers grabbed her and held her up.

"Hey where do you think you're going? A soldier grabbed her by the hair and restrained her."

The woman screamed out in pain through tears.

"Put her with the others, we'll show her why she shouldn't resist."

Alex changed his gunblade to gun mode, ready to shoot them, but as he heard a gunblade fire, the two soldiers dropped. Radiant was holding his gunblades, it was obvious that he had just fired them as steam was coming out of the barrels and the sound of his gunblade's firing had been heard. He lowered his weapons and walked to the young blonde woman. Alex and his squad walked over as Radiant set down his left gunblade and extended his hand to her. "Hey, it's alright okay? We're Sanctum soldiers from Bodhum."

The woman looked at him and nodded, when she spotted the sky blue shoulder pad on lights, she looked into his eyes. "Y..you're a Knight Captain... Please, you have to save my family!"

"Don't worry, we'll protect them..." Radiant let her cry in his chest as he pat her back, it was obvious that she had been through a lot.

"We don't have time, we need to stop Vark, he could get away!" Amodar looked at Alex, reminding him of the urgency in their time constraint.

"We are also here to save lives, we split up." Alex spoke the order calmly.

"I'll do it myself, you all continue." Radiant stood up and held his two gunblades. "Come with me miss, I'm going to save them, lead the way alright?"

"B..but there's six soldiers!"

"Don't worry about the number, I can handle it."

She nodded and stood up, walking off with Radiant by her side. Alex and the rest of his squad continued to Vark's crash site. They took a turn down an alleyway, heading down the narrow passageway. It was further up ahead as they slowly get to the end of town that they could feel relieved, knowing that they would be at Vark's shuttle shortly. As they got to the end of the long, narrow alleyway, they heard a bullet hit the side of a building. As they turned, they could spot a massive amount of Liberators.

"Wonderful, they knew we were coming!" Alex turned his gunblade to gun mode, but knew they wouldn't have time to deal with them.

"Go, we'll hold them off, you take care of Vark!" Amodar spun up his machine gun and Rygdea took cover, holding his rifle in his hands, ready to suppress the Liberator ambush.

"Alright, good luck you two!" Alex nodded and ran ahead with Lightning, they managed to make their way out of the city where they started to head north toward their objective. In the large open field, they were surrounded by large chunks of scrapped metal that had once made up the mighty Devourer, the trash field was most likely miles wide.

The giant scrap field looked a lot like the Vile Peaks, except there wasn't as much junk and the location wasn't mountainous.

As they slowly got through the debris of the field they came across a shuttle, beside it, stood a man with long silver hair, he wore a long black trench coat that extended down to his knees, medals and ribbons on his uniform and green lights decorating his shoulder pad.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see you two again..." Vark raised his gaze to them and stood up straight. "It's a miracle that you two survived, but no miracle can save you now."

Alex narrowed his eyes at the older male. "Why Vark? You were a General of the Sanctum, Advar was your friend... why would you do all this!?"

The general lowered his brows, his gaze becoming a serious stare. "You wish to know the truth behind this conflict? Let me tell you, the real reason we Liberators fight is not so we can take over and dethrone the Sanctum."

Lightning huffed, "So you lied to all your soldiers!?"

Vark nodded, "Pawns need little reason to fight, besides they wouldn't believe the real reason I am fighting..."

"You're wrong! They fight for what they believe in... We fight to protect our families and hometown, your soldiers... the Liberators fight because they believe that the Sanctum needs to be replaced, it is our conflicting beliefs that make us enemies, don't you even think of us as just pawns, it's these pawns that have made your war possible!" Alex couldn't believe that Vark had no value for even his own soldiers, that someone could see them as merely tools of war.

"But you are Alex... you're a tool of the Sanctum. When you have served your purpose, they will toss you aside and crush everything you hold dear. This war isn't about the Sanctum... I seek to kill all Fal'cie and create a human world."

"What!? So Zack was right about your plan? If you do that then Cocoon will crash, you can't kill Orphan!"

"Do you honestly think that they have our best interest in mind!? They have their own agenda, we're little more than tools to them and believe me... they will kill us all as soon as the time is right."

"That's your reason!? That's no reason to do this! Even if what you are saying isn't completely insane, your methods to achieve your goals are too extreme!"

It's a shame you won't see the truth... very well, if you intend to stop humanity's future and lead us to destruction, then you can be the first to die!

Vark raised his hand over his shoulder and curled his fingers around the hilt of his blade. He then raised a massive great sword over his back and charged at Alex with it. The blade was black with red outlines on it and dark green gems to decorate it. Varkrk charged at him with unbelievable speed, closing the distance between them in mere seconds, the steel of the sword hit against Alex's gunblade.

With the sound of metal hitting metal, the final battle had begun. Lightning struck at Vark from the side, making a diagonal strike that was easily blocked as he spun around, deflecting Alex's gunblade.

Alex regained his balance and tried to hit Vark's side as he had turned to Lightning, but he jumped out of harms way, breaking contact with Lightning.

Alex's gunblade sparked with the power of Lightning, electricity sparking down the blade.

"That's an interesting weapon you have Alex, but it's not enough to stop me! I'm much more experienced than you. I've fought in many more battles than you have!" Vark readied his massive sword, looking for an opening in Alex's combat stance.

"But I have my family and power that not even you have!" Alex held out his left hand, "Thundaga!"

In that instant the area where Vark stood, erupted into a massive lightning storm, Lightning and electricity bathing the area. Vark winced in pain as the lightning traveled through his body, shocking him.

As the magic faded away, Alex had already ran over to Vark and made an upward slash, the tip of his gunblade slicing through the ground before coming up, tossing dirt into the air. His gunblade shocked Vark further as he knocked him into the air.

Alex activated his Grav-Con Unit and jumped into the air, hitting him once with his gunblade before making a spinning, downward slash, smashing Vark into the ground.

Lightning used this opening to follow up, making two more swift strikes at Vark, but he had already recovered. He grabbed her by the neck with his left hand after he blocked her. "You're both fools!" He started to move his blade in an attempt to stab her, but she raised her feet and kicked him between his legs. He instantly dropped her and she started to breathe heavily to catch her breath.

Alex ran up behind Vark as he was holding his crotch, using this opening to finish him off. "Phantom Blade!" Alex's gunblade began to glow a bright blue color and he struck at Vark, the first attack was blocked, but then Alex disappeared. Vark's eyes widened when he felt the gunblade hit him from behind, knocking him into the sky again. Alex teleported up to him and made another powerful slash before disappearing and reappearing somewhere else near Vark, repeating the process until he made a 14 hit combo.

One final time, Alex teleported above Vark and his gunblade shined even brighter. Lightning watched in awes as the gunblade struck downwards, the area was surrounded by a blinding light, the only thing Lightning could see was white, entirely blinded by light. She could hear screams of pain and electricity. A minute later, the light disappeared and all that could be seen was a massive crater in the ground, debris and dust in the air, and Vark lying in the crater with Alex standing on the edge of the impact zone.

Alex was breathing heavily, trying to regain his breath after pulling off that attack. Lightning walked over, still in shock from what she had just witnessed. "Wh..what was that?"

Alex gave a light shrug, not entirely sure of what just happened either. "I.. I don't know. It was like... that instant I knew exactly what to do, how to move. It just came to me..."

"Well... whatever you did was pretty crazy." She folded her gunblade up and put it in her holster as she turned her gaze back to Vark.

"F..fools..." Vark glared at them as he tried to breathe. "Your victory only brings you closer to your demise... With me gone, the Fal'cie will resume their plan... one day they will destroy you and every living thing in Cocoon! This world will become a burning shell, hurtling towards destruction..."

"Even if it is true, your methods were too extreme. You put everyone at risk yourself by starting this pointless war." Alex placed his gunblade over his back.

"Just you wait... one day you will be betrayed by those you trust and then you will have nothing left other than knowing that you caused the destruction of Cocoon." Vark closed his eyes.

"Then we'll be ready to stop whatever threats may come." Alex turned around, he could hear nothing more than Vark's mumbling as he died.

Alex took a seat on a large chunk of metal scrap, needing to rest after his battle. Lightning grabbed a communicator off of Vark's body and handed it to Alex. "Here... end this war."

Alex nodded and grabbed it. He waited for a second to regain his breath and then he pushed the button on it.

"This is Lieutenant Alexander Issac, also known as Storm. I am a soldier of the Sanctum Guardian Corps in Bodhum."

In that instant the Liberator soldiers spoke out in surprise, wondering what Alex was doing on Vark's communicator.

"The war is over, I have killed General Vark... I repeat, the war is over, General Vark is dead."


	14. Chapter 14 - Promotion and Celebration

**XIV**

**Promotion and Celebration**

* * *

The Liberators had surrendered after verifying that Vark was dead. They had

given up on fighting and the Sanctum had won. This however, did not mean that there

were a few extremists that refused to surrender, but they were quickly dealt with.

Radiant, Amodar, and Rygdea all walked over, they spotted Vark's dead body and their

two friends resting.

A few days had passed since then, Lightning had discovered that Serah was safe

and had hidden away during the Liberator assault on Bodhum. Alex and Radiant had

found their family completely unharmed. They all spent a while catching up and

spending time together to celebrate the reunion.

Eventually, a message arrived in Alex's communicator, he opened the message as

soon as he noticed it was from Sanctum command.

* * *

Lieutenant, Alexander Issac

Shield Division / Bodhum Security Regiment

Sanctum Command has been aware of Shield Division's current status. You took

over as acting leader and became a huge reason we won this war. Your excellent

leadership, gunblade expertise, and knowledge have become aware to Sanctum

Command. Knight Captain, Radiant Issac has sent in a recommendation form and it is

believed that you have shown skills worthy of the Knight Captains. Your ceremony will

be held in Bodhum today, at 2:00 PM

We are looking forward to seeing you in Bodhum Guardian Corps Headquarters,

congratulations.

-Sanctum Command, Knight Captain Offices

* * *

His eyes widened as he read the letter, "N..no way!" He shouted in almost

disbelief.

There was a soft chuckle, "Of course it's true."

Alex turned around to see Radiant, standing behind the couch he was sitting on.

"Me!? A Knight Captain?"

Radiant nodded, "Of course, you have already shown the skills required to be

recognized... everyone believes that you should have the honor."

"Radiant... thanks." He smiled and gave his brother a hug.

Radiant nodded, "Of course Alex... you know you'll be the youngest person to

ever become a Knight Captain right?"

He nodded, "Yeah... I.. I don't know what to think."

"I understand, it is a big deal, but it's a nice surprise, I saw how you worked and

how your allies believed in you. I had a feeling you'd make a good Knight Captain."

Alex nodded and stood up. "I guess we had better get ready right?"

"Yeah, so go and get changed, I've already told your family and friends. Everyone

is supposed to be there." Radiant stood up straight and walked to the door, Alex now

noticed that he was wearing a ceremonial Knight Captain's uniform. It was made from

cloth and obviously not used for combat, but was built for if needed, it would still allow

the wearer to fight.

Alex nodded, "You look great Radiant, we'll have to celebrate later, right after the

ceremony, how about we take the family out for a victory feast?"

Radiant gave a small nod to his brother, "Sounds like a plan. I'll arrange

reservations at your favorite restaurant."

"Thanks Radiant, I'll go get changed for the ceremony." Alex walked down the

hall and into his room. He had a small couch and a TV on the wall. On the end of the

room, there was a large worktable that had a few parts laid across it and drawers labeled

by their contents. He turned and walked to his dresser, opening it up and grabbing his

ceremonial uniform.

There was a large crowd of people gathered inside a tall, wide building. It was the

Bodhum Guardian Corps main building. The crowd stood in a massive courtyard that

was very peaceful. There were waterfalls trickling into a small river that went through

the garden, large bushes, flowers, and ponds filled the courtyard and the peaceful sound

of birds chirping filled the air forming a tranquil, harmonious, haven.

Within the crowd were many soldiers of the Guardian Corps and some PSICOM

leaders, there were news reporters filming the event live. Alex's parents, little sister,

Lightning, Amodar, Blitz Squad, Rygdea, Cid, and even Serah were all there.

Radiant was standing on the small stage set at the end of the room, it was elevated

to demand attention. He was wearing his ceremonial uniform, primarily black with red

and blue ribbons, a large blue sash coming down from around his waist. "Thank you all

for attending this ceremony. As you all know, everyone here is gathered in celebration of

a very special event! Alexander Issac, please come forward."

Alex stood up and walked up to the stage besides Radiant. He was wearing a very

similar uniform, but without all the ribbons.

"Lieutenant Alexander Issac, your skills have been observed by not only those

around you, but also the Order of Knight Captains and Sanctum Command. You have

been recognized as one who holds the potential to become a Knight Captain. Your

excellent leadership, unwavering determination, and impressive skill with the gunblade

have all shown when you killed Vark. It is because of this, we would like to welcome

you into the Order of Knight Captains. The order is not without responsibility, you will

be expected to take on dangerous missions that nobody else can perform, work for the

Sanctum directly, and protect all of Cocoon, however this does not come without

benefit, you will be given the option to lead your very own Division, special training,

and access to the Knight Captain requisitions office. Do you accept this invitation?"

Alex nodded, "I do, it would be an honor to serve in the order."

"Then step forward Alexander Issac."

Alex walked in front of his brother and saw a soldier bring out a shoulder pad

with sky blue lights.

"Give me your shoulder pad Alex." Radiant smiled lightly.

Alex took off his shoulder pad and handed it to Radiant. The soldier then set the

new one on his shoulder and strapped it on.

"Congratulations Knight Captain, Alexander Issac, you're now officially a

member of the Knight Captain order as well as the youngest person to ever achieve this

rank, this is a great honor for you."

"I'm proud to be with you, I will do my best to perform my duties and protect the

people of Cocoon." Alex turned around and faced the crowd of people who now began

to clap and cheer loudly.

A while had passed and Alex was at a fancy dinner with his family, they all sat at a

table and took their seats overviewing the menu that displayed all the available food on

the holographic display pads.

After a little, the waiter came to visit them and asked if they wanted anything to

drink. Everyone ordered a Bodhian Blue except for Alex's little sister Seerana, who

ordered some apple juice, unable to order any sort of alcoholic beverage.

The waiter gave a light nod and walked off with a list of their drinks on his

holopad, data that appeared when the customers touched the buttons beside the drink

names.

A while later, the waiter returned with their drinks, took their orders and brought

out the food. They all enjoyed their meal, discussing Alex's promotion and then went

home, getting into a large car as they drove it back to their home.

On their way home, they heard an announcement on the Bodhum News Network.

"Alexander Issac, a soldier in the Bodhum Guardian Corps was just promoted to Knight

Captain after defeating General Vark, the leader of the Liberator forces, this makes him

the youngest Knight Captain, achieving the rank at an impressive 18 years old."

Alex sighed, he was proud to be a member of the Order of Knight Captains, but he

wasn't quite happy, he just didn't seem like he finished everything, there was an empty

feeling in his heart.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Fireworks Festival

**XV**

**The Firework Festival**

* * *

Later that night, everyone in Bodhum had gathered around the beaches of the city. The city was still in bad condition, but the Fal'cie were working to rebuild the damage from the war, the Fal'cie's technology was incredible and it was estimated that within a few months, all damage on Cocoon would be repaired, Bodhum was already schedules for completion in a week.

Alexander Issac walked up a small staircase on the hill, as he reached the top he spotted a massive dome located in the ocean. The dome was clear and there were at least a thousand people standing out on the beach with their loved ones. A light smile crossed his lips, peace had once again returned to Cocoon, Bodhum's residents all gathering for the Fireworks festival to celebrate their victory in the Cocoon Civil War.

Guardian Corps soldiers were surrounding the perimeter of the festival grounds patrolling as they both waited for fireworks to start and anybody who needed assistance.

As Alex walked down to the beach, he heard a few people whispering. "Hey, it's that new Knight Captain."

"Yeah, I heard he's the one who killed General Vark..."

"You serious!? This guy must really be something."

Alex had reached the crowd, his boots hitting the sandy shores of the beach, leaving imprints in the sand wherever he stepped.

As Alex walked, he glanced around, spotting various people. He noticed Blitz Squad who was talking amongst themselves. Their laughter heard among the voices of the crowd.

The fireworks festival began as a marvelous blast of red was spotted in the distance. Various "Oohs and wows" were caught in the Knight Captain's ears as he continued to walk. Another magnificent display was caught in the corner of his eye and the awe of the citizens was heard once more.

Alex then spotted a tuft of pink hair in the crowd, he started to walk over as a slight smile crossed his lips.

As he grew closer, he immediately recognized the woman with the pink hair. She was looking up at the fireworks as she stood in her Guardian Corps uniform.

Alex approached and gave a smile. "Hey, enjoying the fireworks Light?"

The pinkette jumped, a bit startled by the male. "Y..yeah..." Her crystalline blue hues followed him as he walked over.

"They certainly do look incredible, don't they?" He looked from her eyes to the incredible display of fireworks going off within the massive, clear dome.

Fireworks whistled as 10 multi-colored fireworks launched off into the sky, exploding at the top of the dome after spiraling around each other. Once the explosion came, the sky was lit up in various patterns of blue, red, and purple.

Their hues were lit up by the light of the fireworks as they looked at each other.

"...C..claire..." She whispered quietly.

"Huh?" Alex raised a brow at her.

"My name, it's Claire Farron. You didn't forget our promise... did you?"

"No of course not..." He smiled as he repeated her real name in his head, it was as beautiful as her, fitting for the pinkette.

"Good then, how about you tell me your part?" She folded her arms and glanced at him.

"Alright... well you know about how I like to get to know my squad and befriend my allies? There's more to that." He sighed and closed his eyes to collect his thoughts.

"And?" She raised a brow, not sure what he was getting at.

He opened his eyes right then and gaze into her eyes. "I have feelings for you..."

A light blush appeared on her face as her eyes widened, she was shocked to hear this and her heart began to beat wildly. "Y..you like me?"

He nodded and smiled at her. "A lot."

She stayed silent for a while and turned away, her face still completely red. "I.. I do too."

Alex placed a hand on her cheek and turned her eyes back to his, she noticed his smile and felt herself staring into his eyes almost as if it was a dream. Right then, a sky blue firework went off, the sound of the crowd and everything around them seemed distant, their eyes reflected the magnificent blue light, their crystalline blue hues locked as their eyelids closed and their lips moved closer.

As their soft lips met, the fireworks went wild, the most brilliant display of fireworks going off in the distance as Alex wrapped his arm around her back, Lightning's arms subconsciously wrapping around the back of his neck as they pulled each other closer to the other, their kiss lingering for only a few seconds longer as Lightning's pillow soft breasts pressed up against his chest.

She then pulled away and gazed into his eyes as he did the same. The fireworks calmed for a second as the light in their eyes faded away.

Lightning smiled at him and let go of him. "That was... amazing..."

He nodded, "Mmhmm..." He then looked out to the fireworks, occasionally looking over at her.

Alex no longer had that empty feeling in his heart, he felt happy and like nothing in the world could change that. It was now obvious to him that the empty feeling he had, was actually his wish to not lose Lightning.

To both Alexander Issac and Claire Farron, the Cocoon Civil War had finally been brought to a close, and a new future was waiting for them.

* * *

**Author's Note**

I hope you all enjoyed the fan fiction, The Untold Story series is currently planned to be five books long and this chapter concludes the first book. If you'd like to easily know when I upload the next book's first chapter, please follow me, it'll save you a headache. Also tell me what you thought about this first book, reading comments on how you have enjoyed the series really makes my day and inspires me to get the other chapters done. As mentioned, this book is COMPLETELY done, however I may add a few additional chapters to clear up a few loose ends, but it isn't guaranteed... for example in Chapter 14 when Radiant Issac goes with the woman to help save her family or how Amodar ended up surviving the fall in Eden. Anyways thank you for reading my series, I hope you all will return for Book II!


End file.
